Dover International Speedway to host 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sunday, Sept. 11



DOVER, Del. – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, along with Dover International Speedway, will host Delaware’s 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sunday, Sept. 11 at noon.

The event, first started in 2005 by five firefighters in Denver, Colo., pays tribute to the 343 FDNY members who selflessly gave their lives in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 by inviting any and all emergency services personnel to the Monster Mile to climb 110 flights of stairs, which was the exact amount of stories in the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. The Stair Climb serves as a reminder to all the need to advance firefighter health and safety, and move those advancements to the forefront of priorities in society, and Delaware has joined the other 49 states in the country by hosting the event locally.

In other stair climb events, participating firefighters have used air packs or carried hoses; many have been in full turn-out gear and others are accompanied by rescue dogs. Each climber carries the photograph and biographical sketch of a firefighter who was lost on Sept. 11, 2001. The Stair Climb is not a race, but an opportunity to honor and remember the 343 FDNY members that lost their lives that day.

The day’s events begin with a memorial service at 9 a.m. at the Firefighter’s Monument, located at Mirror Lake in Downtown Dover. That will be followed by the Stair Climb at noon and a barbecue for all participants and sponsors at 3 p.m. at Dover International Speedway.

Registration costs $25 per person, and the deadline to sign up is Tuesday, Aug. 23. To register, and learn more, visit the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association’s website at www.dvfassn.com.

History of the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb

The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb event is a time to honor and remember the 343 FDNY members who selflessly gave their lives, so that others might live. On September 11, 2005, five Colorado firefighters — David McGrail, Oren Bersagel-Briese, Scott Eckels, Sean Roeper and Andy Singer — convened at 1999 Broadway, a skyscraper in downtown Denver, to climb 110 flights of stairs in memory of their FDNY brothers who were killed four years earlier in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

The following year, organizers of the second Denver 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb changed their venue to the Qwest Building at 1801 California St., the second tallest high-rise in Denver. The structure is 54 stories; climbers begin their trek in the basement and make the climb twice, for a total of 110 stories — the height of the World Trade Center Towers. With the support of venue management, attendance grew to 12 participants in 2006, representing four fire departments from the metro Denver area.

As word spread about the Denver 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in ensuing years, 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.

In 2009, registration at the Denver 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb was filled to capacity in seven days and a wait list of several hundred participants was established, with more than 45 fire departments from five states represented. Firefighters from around the country contacted the Denver team, in hopes of holding similar events in their cities. In 2010, the founders of the Denver 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb partnered with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to set forth the national standard protocol for future 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs.
Dover International Speedway to host 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sunday, Sept. 11 Dover International Speedway to host 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sunday, Sept. 11 Reviewed by Admin on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 Rating: 5