In an effort to remember the 343 firefighters who were killed at the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, Firefighters, police officers and the public will gather at Werner Park in Papillion tomorrow for the first ever Memorial Stair Climb
Organizer Matt Gibbons is a fire inspector with the Offutt Fire Department tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB The event is open to all ages and fitness levels. "The start point will be the left field foul pole and will go down the stairs and zig zag our way through the concourse and stadium seating all the way to the right field foul pole," Gibbons says.
They will repeat that four times, which will equal the 110 flights that represent the World Trade Center. Participants can register at the stadium beginning at 7:30 Saturday morning. The cost is $30 and the proceeds will go to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
An opening ceremony begins at 8:00 and will include an invocation from Papillion Fire Department chaplain Kenneth Hessel, who was a rescue worker at Ground Zero.
Gibbons says each climber will represent a firefighter killed in the attacks. "Each climber will have an honor badge and it will have a picture and the name of one of the fallen firefighters and the company they were assigned to that day."
After completing the climb, Gibbons says they will ring a bell and each participant will say the name of the firefighter they were climbing for.