Tulsa Firefighters Do Stair Climb In Remembrance Of 9/11

On Friday morning Tulsa Firefighters and first responders are remembering those who lost their lives 19 years ago in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center.

At 8:46 a.m., first responders in full protective gear will climb a hillside off LL Tisdale Parkway twelve times to simulate the 110 flights of stairs the firefighters climbed 19 years ago to save as many lives as they could.

This is the third year TFD has done an organized stair climb to remember 9/11.

Normally the climb is held in the Onegas building in downtown Tulsa, but due to the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve decided to hold the event outdoors out of caution.

They will start the climb at exactly 8:46, which is the time the first place crashed into the North Tower, and keep going until everyone has completed the climb.

Tulsa firefighter Matt Lay says remembering this tragic day never gets easier.

“We get together as first responders and firefighters and we do something that’s a token of what they went through that day,” Lay says. “Climbing 110 stories of the tower, climbing the hill, anything we are doing together that’s almost a little awful just reminds us the sacrifices required sometimes to do this job.”

Lay says they are expecting a big turnout but know that many more firefighters will be participating at their own gyms and buildings who don’t feel as comfortable being in a group setting.