This Friday, September 11, people across the U.S. will remember the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that occurred in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania 25 years ago. An estimated 400 first responders and law enforcement personnel were also victims, as they helped those escaping the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
The Georgetown Fire and Police departments this week will continue to honor those fallen heroes by climbing the bleachers at Georgetown High School football stadium early in the morning. The stair climb represents the number of steps it took first responders to climb the Twin Towers on 9/11 while saving those still in the buildings.
“The phrase that came out [after 9/11] is ‘never forget,’ ” GPD Police Chief Cory Tchida said. “Every year that we do this, it’s just one way of helping make sure that we never forget.”
For GFD Chief John Sullivan, the stair climb gives participants the chance to “truly have a time” to remember the sacrifice of first responders.
“It resembles solidarity across disciplines,” he said. “We came together as public safety professionals and as a country.”
The feeling of solidarity, he added, can be brought into the community work that local public safety professionals do.
The stair climb is a difficult physical feat, Chief Tchida acknowledged, even for those who are in shape. However, considering the setting — a high school football stadium, where you can see everything around you, and you know it’s safe — he said it makes you think of the true struggles those on 9/11 went through.
“The New York City Fire Department that responded to this, they’re marching up stairs that are smoke-filled, destroyed, on fire and have absolutely no idea what they’re going to encounter or how this is going to play out,” he said. “From my perspective, it is difficult to conceptualize that level of courage.”
This year, the Georgetown Fire Department’s pipes and drums team will also be playing songs on the courthouse lawn on September 11 at 11 a.m.