Local First Responders Remember Lives Lost In 9/11 With 110 Story Stair Climb

Local first responders remembered those killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. They climbed 110 flights of stairs, the same height of the Twin Towers.

A day of remembrance, it brings many people together, including hundreds of firefighters, police and more.

“We're going to follow the example they set. We're going to do things that when people are running out, we're going to run in, we're going to help those that are in need,” a Tulsa Fireman said. 

On September 11th, local first responders prepared for what they knew was ahead of them, climbing for the ones who had no idea what they were about to face.

“You can't imagine it, how nervous they had to have been. I mean, adrenaline going through them. They're just thinking they want to help people; they want to save people, I mean they're not thinking about themselves,” said Sand Springs Firefighter Cooper Thomas. 

As firefighters put on their gear, some carrying more than 70 pounds, they got ready to take every step,

“I'm thinking I'm glad I'm not carrying the gear they carried,” said retired Tulsa District Fire Chief, Bob Stern. 

Local first responders climbed a total of 110 stories, the same amount of stairs climbed by rescue crews on 9/11.

“I'm tired but you just got to keep going, can't stop,” Thomas said

Up and down each flight, they remembered who they were doing it for.

“These passport tags are people that lost their lives that day, and you think about their families, their friends, their children. They were husbands, they were brothers, they were fathers, to people,” said Stern. 

With the ring of a bell, the names of first responders killed that day made their way back down the 110 flights, carried by those who continue to remember them.

“They went never anticipating the buildings were going to collapse. It may have been on some of their minds, but they were going to go up and put that fire out. They were going to rescue people and do what they did every day. That was their job and that's what we're committed to, and that's what we're still doing today,” said Stern.