DENVER — The stairwell of 1801 California Street was met with heavy foot traffic Tuesday as firefighters from all across the state climbed 110 stories to honor the first responders killed on September 11, 2001.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Denver 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, a tribute started by five firefighters.
"As we complete our 20th event here in downtown Denver, we acknowledge how the program has evolved and turned into something nationally, but we also want to always go back to why we're doing this and what we're doing it for, and that's to remember the sacrifices from September 11th and the sacrifices that are still being made today," said Oren Bersagel-Briese, one of the founders of the Denver 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.
Before crews began their ascent, a moment of silence was held for the 343 firefighters whose lives were taken on 9/11.
"It really is something that we can't ever have thought could happen from what we did that first day to where it's gone right now," Bersagel-Briese said. "But, it just suggests how the stair climb itself is different than other events and how walking through stairs is the physical exertion that you have to outlay in order to complete a stair climb."
The climb is limited to 343 firefighters, and each carries the name tag and photos of a fallen hero.
"Every year, I try to see the guys that I’ve climbed for before, remember their names, remember their pictures from my past climbs when I've carried them. And again, [it's] just humbling to embrace more than just the number," said Andrew Kopp, a firefighter paramedic with Castle Rock Fire and Rescue.
Photos of the fallen firefighters are also placed along the stairwell. During the climb, many touched the pictures, with some putting them on their backs during the ascend.
"It's just the legacy of a single individual, kind of humanizing more than just the number. When you think of 343 people, it's hard to really comprehend," Kopp said. "But when you have a single person, I try to do research every year, think about you know, what they like to do... just because all these guys had a life. These guys had a family outside of this. And I think it's important even just to remember and highlight what those guys stood for, both on the job and off."
Participating firefighters wore their full gear, which can weigh more than 50 pounds, and carried fire hoses that contained the names of the fallen 343 firefighters.
"Yeah so, the writing on the hose was the names of every firefighter who passed away the day of 9/11. And it’s important because… you're carrying the weight like of their names through a hose, which is very important to firefighting," said Fred Zukowski.
Fred was joined by his father, Michael Zukowski, on the climb.
"It was special to be able to come back and this time actually get to do it with my son, which he's exploring coming into this world, he's got a job as a wildland firefighter now. It's just really honorable to be actually able to do it and share something that he knows is important to me, here at this location," said Michael Zukowski.
Participants have their own motivation and meaning behind the climb, Jason Butts, battalion chief with Castle Rock Fire and Rescue, has done the climb for the past several years.
"When I was coming up here 10 to 15 years ago, each overpass, you would see people standing on the overpass with American flags remembering 9/11. I saw one person today," Butts said.
Through this tribute, the unspoken bond between firefighters is on full display as they challenge themselves not only physically but mentally to honor their fallen brothers and sisters on a day they will never forget.
"We climb with a tag in remembrance for them, and then what we do is we reach out to their families afterward," Bersagel-Briese explained. "We let them know that we haven't forgotten, and we symbolically complete the climb that they weren't able to complete that day."
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