Approximately 670 people walked 2,000 steps during the Lexington Fire Department’s annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in Lexington, Kentucky.
For two hours, on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 11, participants climbed the stairs of Kroger Field.
The event marked 23 years since the attacks on the United States that ended the lives of thousands.
A speech from Lexington’s mayor, Linda Gorton, opened the event and then the most anticipated part of the event began- the stair climb.
Recruiting and hiring officer of the LFD, Lieutenant Chris MacFarlane, helped organize the department’s now 12th annual stair climb.
“We are climbing the same number of stairs that they did to get to the top of the World Trade Center,” said MacFarlane. “They’re challenging themselves to be here to remember the people that sacrificed their lives that day, but the biggest thing is not to forget.”
Many of those who participated in the stair climb were first responders, or had a connection to someone who died on 9/11.
“Everybody from police officers, firefighters, military, ROTC (is here),” said MacFarlane. “Henry Clay JROTC is here, West Jessamine’s football team is here, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, corrections (officers are) here from the corrections and jail here, the mayor was here…even the FBI was here.”
MacFarlane said many of the participants wore tactical gear from their first responder jobs or workout gear while they climbed the stairs so they could have a similar experience to those who actually had to endure climbing the thousands of steps through fire and rubble on 9/11.
“We know that the firefighters- when they were climbing those stairs at the Twin Towers, and really anywhere that they are working- they have a lot of gear on,” said stair climb participant Krista Greathouse, who wore a weighted vest during the climb. “As regular people we’ll never truly be able to mimic that unless we have that same gear, but it is an effort, and we try to pay tribute to what they did and what they have to go through on a daily basis with their gear.”
The chief of the LFD, Jason Wells, spoke on the importance of local events, like the annual stair climb, have on Lexington community members.
“This is an event that has been going on for many years,” said Wells. “And it is one of the ways that here in Lexington, we try to recognize and remember the events of September 11, 2001.”
Wells said he had just become a lieutenant in the fire department in 2001 when the attacks on 9/11 happened.
“It was a very impactful day for the fire service in general and for America,” said Wells. “And so as we watched those events unfold, it really became something meaningful to all of us.”
Wells explained the importance of younger people who weren’t alive during 9/11 participating in events like the stair climb and honoring the fallen.
“It’s critically important now, because we are 23 years past that date (9/11),” said Wells. “And so we’re hiring members on the fire department that were not (alive yet) on September 11, 2001… it’s really really important we continue to perpetuate the memory of those who sacrificed their lives.”
Wells also offered advice to those in younger generations who weren’t alive on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I don’t want people to forget about Sept. 12. Sept. 12 was a day where our nation woke up, and we were more unified than I have ever seen us,” said Wells. “We need to not only never forget Sept. 11 and the sacrifices that were made, but we need to never forget Sept. 12 and how our country came together with unity and resolve.”
18-year-old Millersburg firefighter, Gabriel Juett, explained his admiration for those who sacrificed their lives to help others on 9/11.
“I think something I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life is how hard these people worked,” said Juett. “I mean, you think about the people that were there, and the people that climbed 110 stories, and it really just sticks with you. This stair climb is nothing to joke about, it’s the real deal.”
Many of those who attended the stair climb highlighted the importance of honoring the lives of those who died on Sept. 11, 2001.
“It’s about commemorating the people that ran to help, versus running from,” said Greathouse. “And that is definitely an act that the people in this field are called to. They are selfless, and they are really giving every effort to try to save others.”
