N.H. Firefighters, Family, Friends Honor 9/11 Fallen
Sept. 08--MANCHESTER -- More than 260 people climbed 110 stories on Sunday, raising money and honoring the memory of firefighters who died while responding to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Firefighters donned their protective gear, some even taking on the extra load of an oxygen tank, while spouses and friends in shorts and T-shirts joined them in the stairwells at the Brady-Sullivan office tower on Elm Street for the fourth annual New Hampshire 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.
"It's a great way to memorialize the events that happened and honor the guys who gave their lives and pay our respects," said Bill Campbell, a lieutenant in the Nashua fire department and one of the organizers.
The climb has a special significance for Campbell, who was a firefighter in the South Bronx when he responded to an emergency call at the Twin Towers when both buildings crumbled that Tuesday morning nearly 13 years ago.
"We were just going down to do our job -- to help with the recovery and rescue," Campbell recalled Sunday in the lobby as the first team to complete the climb left the building.
In New York City, 343 firefighters lost their lives.
"We still think about them. We still remember their sacrifice," Campbell said.
Manchester firefighter Greg Bolduc, president of the Fire Instructors and Officers of New Hampshire, said 264 people registered for the event Sunday. He said it has averaged around 300 since the memorial climbs began in 2011 as a way to mark the 10-year anniversary of the attacks.
Some teams pushed the pace up the stairs, while others methodically took it step-by-step.
"This is a remembrance. It's a memorial," Bolduc said. "It's not a race."
The registration fee was $30. Each climber wore a card displaying the name, photo and unit of one of the firefighters who died at the World Trade Center. Each participant read the name off the card and rang a ceremonial bell, then entered the building.
"It was humbling," Hudson fire Lt. Allan Dube said.
Dube and his team, which included his wife, Laurie, were greeted with high-fives and cheers when they exited the stairwell and went toward the elevator for one final ride down. The building is 20 stories, which meant climbers had to make their way up the steps and down the elevator repeatedly.
"It's a good way to reflect on what happened," Laurie Dube said. "Also I think it's a great way to raise money for fallen firefighters."
U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte took part for the fourth straight year. Ayotte made the climb with Senate candidate and fellow Republican Scott Brown, who faces the state primary on Tuesday. Ayotte smiled as she acknowledged being slightly winded from the climb.
"It's amazing what those firefighters were able to do," she said. "It's a good cause and a great way to make sure we never forget the sacrifices made that day."
dalden@unionleader.com
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