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National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Announces a Series of
Commemorative 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Events
» How You Can Participate: 2010 Firefighter & General Public Climb Events The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), is proud to announce a series of NFFF-sponsored commemorative events to honor the supreme sacrifices made by Fire Department of New York (FDNY) firefighters on September 11, 2001. 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs will take place this year in high-rise buildings in Denver, Colorado, and Nashville, Tennessee, and are open to fire service personnel only. Two other events will be open to the general public: a 9/11 Memorial Mountain Climb in Breckenridge, Colorado, and an outdoor 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in Red Rocks, Colorado. Each 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb and 9/11 Memorial Mountain Climb is not a race, but rather a time to remember and pay tribute to the 343 FDNY members who selflessly gave their lives so that others might live. History of the Stair Climb
The first of these events was held in 2005, when five Colorado firefighters met at a downtown Denver high-rise to climb 110 flights of stairs in memory of their FDNY brothers who were killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. As word spread about the Denver 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, interest in the event surged. In 2007, attendance reached several hundred participants, representing every part of Colorado. The following year, participation was capped at 343, the number of FDNY firefighters who were killed on 9/11. The 2008 event also included a new remembrance component: each climber was assigned a badge, with the name and photograph of one of the fallen firefighters of 9/11, symbolically completing the climb with one who couldn't. Interest in the Stair Climb Expands
Interest in the Climb began to grow and in 2009, the first public 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb was held at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Red Rocks, Colorado. In 2010, the original Denver team partnered with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to create a template for a 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb that can be replicated anywhere in the United States. Nashville, Tennessee, will hold its first event this September. This year will also be the first 9/11 Memorial Mountain Climb, the Firefighter 14er Challenge. The 14ers conceived of their 9/11 memorial hike in early summer of 2009 while hiking their first 14er (Mount of the Holy Cross). The founders of the group discussed climbing a "14'er" (14,000 foot peak) on 9/11 to honor the fallen firefighters from New York. This sparked an immediate response from the community and with just under three weeks of planning, the event grew to over 50 participants from four different states. This year, the 14ers will be climbing Mount Quandary in Breckenridge, Colorado, to honor the 343 FDNY Firefighters who died during the 9/11 attacks. The effort required to climb a 14,000 foot peak is symbolic of the physical demands placed on the firefighters who climbed the 110 flights of stairs to rescue numerous trapped occupants in the World Trade Center, and enables participants to honor these fallen fire heroes in a uniquely Coloradoan way. "It is always great to see how the fire service honors the men and women who make the supreme sacrifice," said Chief Ron Siarnicki, Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. "Many of the firefighters participating in the 9/11 memorial stair climb were not on the job when the firefighters they are honoring were killed. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is proud to be a part of the tribute." Registration fees from all of these events are designated by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to provide support for the surviving family members and coworkers of the New York City fallen firefighters. As an organization, the NFFF commends these firefighters who not only serve their communities every day, but have also developed ways to ensure that the sacrifices made by the FDNY firefighters on September 11, 2001 are not forgotten. For more information about the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs, please contact Victor Stagnaro at vstagnaro@firehero.org. For information pertaining to a specific event, please contact the coordinator directly:
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