Firefighters scale 112 stories in memory of fallen comrades
By Kat Russell, Photojournalist
Kentucky New Era
September 15, 2014
http://www.kentuckynewera.com/web/news/article_e49c9e6a-3c8f-11e4-a9a8-8f2d46025508.html
Kat Russell / Kentucky New Era
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Spence Sowell, 33, and Jessica Burnett, 37, recall exactly where they were when the first plane hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Sowell had just gotten home after an all-night shift — he worked for Budweiser at the time — and turned on the TV when the news broke.
Burnett was living in Colorado. She said she remembered the news coming on and “everything just stopped.”
Both said that after the first plane struck, they weren’t sure what to think.
“It was scary,” Burnett said. “I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know what to think.”
Sowell had a different idea.
He said his grandmother had worked at the Empire State Building decades ago and she’d told him a story about a plane accidently crashing into it one day in the 1940s.
“I sat there thinking, how do you fly an airplane into a 110-story building,” he said. “That was before I knew it was a passenger plane or that it was a terrorist attack.”
Kat Russell / Kentucky New Era
It wasn’t until the second plane hit, they said, that it became clear something was much bigger was
happening.
Both said they watched in shock as the events of what has been called one of the worst days in American history unfolded.
The next year, Sowell said, he applied to join the Hopkinsville Fire Department.
Burnett joined a few years later. She is currently the only woman in the department who works on the line.
Both said the events of Sept. 11 played a big part in their decisions to join.
Sunday, with the 13th anniversary of the attacks barely in the rearview mirror, Burnett and Sowell went to the William R. Snodgrass Tower in Nashville to represent the Hopkinsville Fire Department in the fifth annual Nashville 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb.
This was Burnett’s fourth time participating. It was Sowell’s third.
They were two of the 343 firefighters, from nine southeastern states climbing in full gear in memory of the 343 New York firefighters who died at the World Trade Center.
The climb raises money, through firefighter registrations, donations and T-shirts sales, for the Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Each climber paid $35 to participate. All the money is earmarked for families directly affected by Sept. 11.
Grouped into teams of seven, each climber was given an ID card with the name and photo of a fallen New York firefighter. Each team made four trips, climbing 28 stories each trip, for a total of 112 stories — roughly the same number of stories as Twin Towers.
happening.
Both said they watched in shock as the events of what has been called one of the worst days in American history unfolded.
The next year, Sowell said, he applied to join the Hopkinsville Fire Department.
Burnett joined a few years later. She is currently the only woman in the department who works on the line.
Both said the events of Sept. 11 played a big part in their decisions to join.
Sunday, with the 13th anniversary of the attacks barely in the rearview mirror, Burnett and Sowell went to the William R. Snodgrass Tower in Nashville to represent the Hopkinsville Fire Department in the fifth annual Nashville 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb.
This was Burnett’s fourth time participating. It was Sowell’s third.
They were two of the 343 firefighters, from nine southeastern states climbing in full gear in memory of the 343 New York firefighters who died at the World Trade Center.
The climb raises money, through firefighter registrations, donations and T-shirts sales, for the Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Each climber paid $35 to participate. All the money is earmarked for families directly affected by Sept. 11.
Grouped into teams of seven, each climber was given an ID card with the name and photo of a fallen New York firefighter. Each team made four trips, climbing 28 stories each trip, for a total of 112 stories — roughly the same number of stories as Twin Towers.
Kat Russell / Kentucky New Era
As each team finished their fourth lap, they walked out into the plaza, read the names of the firefighters they climbed for and rang a silver bell in their honor.
For the two Hopkinsville firefighters, participating in the climb was just one way they could honor the sacrifices made by the New York Fire Department.
“I think about it every year I climb,” Sowell said. “It’s like I’m finishing what they weren’t able to finish.”
Burnett said, “It’s something we can’t forget. I never want to forget what those firefighters did and how they died. We owe it to those guys to remember.”
Although it’s not a race, Sowell said there is a hint of competition between the teams.
“We all want to do our best,” he said. “We all want to finish and do a good job for those guys.”
But he and Burnett take it a little further than most.
Like the others, both climbed in their full gear, but they also wore what’s called a high-rise pack consisting of a hand-line hose and a bigger hose, adding an extra 60 or so pounds to their already 60 to 80 pounds of gear.
Burnett carried the hand line hose, which she wrapped in an American flag, draped across her shoulders over her air tank. Burnett carried the bigger hose in the same fashion. The hose was red and wrapped with white and blue tape.
“We want to make it as real as possible — to keep it as close to what those firefighters went through on that day,” he said.
Both said the climb is an emotional experience every year.
“I get to go home after I finish,” Burnett said. “Those firefighters never get to go home. This isn’t about me or about us or about other people — it’s about those guys who will never go home.”
“That’s what keeps me going,” Sowell agreed. “When things get hard, or when I start to feel like I can’t do it, I look at the photo of the guy I’m climbing for and that’s what makes me keep going. And I’m going to keep doing it every year until I can’t.”
Reach Kat Russell at 270-887-3241 or krussell@kentuckynewera.com.
For the two Hopkinsville firefighters, participating in the climb was just one way they could honor the sacrifices made by the New York Fire Department.
“I think about it every year I climb,” Sowell said. “It’s like I’m finishing what they weren’t able to finish.”
Burnett said, “It’s something we can’t forget. I never want to forget what those firefighters did and how they died. We owe it to those guys to remember.”
Although it’s not a race, Sowell said there is a hint of competition between the teams.
“We all want to do our best,” he said. “We all want to finish and do a good job for those guys.”
But he and Burnett take it a little further than most.
Like the others, both climbed in their full gear, but they also wore what’s called a high-rise pack consisting of a hand-line hose and a bigger hose, adding an extra 60 or so pounds to their already 60 to 80 pounds of gear.
Burnett carried the hand line hose, which she wrapped in an American flag, draped across her shoulders over her air tank. Burnett carried the bigger hose in the same fashion. The hose was red and wrapped with white and blue tape.
“We want to make it as real as possible — to keep it as close to what those firefighters went through on that day,” he said.
Both said the climb is an emotional experience every year.
“I get to go home after I finish,” Burnett said. “Those firefighters never get to go home. This isn’t about me or about us or about other people — it’s about those guys who will never go home.”
“That’s what keeps me going,” Sowell agreed. “When things get hard, or when I start to feel like I can’t do it, I look at the photo of the guy I’m climbing for and that’s what makes me keep going. And I’m going to keep doing it every year until I can’t.”
Reach Kat Russell at 270-887-3241 or krussell@kentuckynewera.com.
