Local firefighters' stair climb honors 9/11 first responders
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
September 12, 2017
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/local-firefighters-stair-climb-honors-first-responders/article_243a026b-61a6-5155-8b51-3a39036e6d4d.html
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
September 12, 2017
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/local-firefighters-stair-climb-honors-first-responders/article_243a026b-61a6-5155-8b51-3a39036e6d4d.html
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was a little after 9 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, when Paducah firefighter Joe Smith turned on the TV and realized the world would never be the same.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed that day when four planes were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. Another 44 people died when passengers fought hijackers on United Flight 93 and the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania before another attack could be carried out.
"I got to the television before the second plane hit," Smith said. "And as we watched the day unfold, it dawned on me that our country and our way of life were forever changed."
As the 16th anniversary of the attacks approached on Sunday, Smith and five of his fellow firefighters -- Lt. Tim Kirkham, Capt. Warren Hatton, Jake Blackwell, Tyler Crane and Caleb Dalbey -- went to the William R. Snodgrass Tower in Nashville to represent the Paducah Fire Department in the eighth annual Nashville 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb.
They were six of the 343 firefighters from across the country 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-shirt sales for the Fallen Firefighters Foundation, and all the money is earmarked for families directly affected by Sept. 11.
Grouped into teams of seven, each climber was given a badge to carry with the name and photo of a fallen New York firefighter. Each team made four trips, climbing 28 stories each time, for a total of 112 stories -- roughly the same number of stories as Twin Towers.
Once finished, each team walked out into the plaza, read the names of the firefighters they climbed for and rang a silver bell in their honor.
This was the Paducah Fire Department's fifth year participating in the climb, an effort that has been spearheaded each year by Kirkham.
"I look forward to doing this every year," Kirkham said. This was his fifth year participating.
"It's not about us … it's about the people that died that day, we're just the ones lucky enough to still be here to do this in their memory."
Kirkham, a firefighter of 13 years and a son of a retired Paducah police officer, said the events of Sept. 11 opened his eyes to what first responders can face on any given day. "I was just shocked," he said. "And after realizing how many police and firefighters were missing after the towers collapsed, and knowing that my father was a public servant, I mean it hit home."
For Smith, the Sept. 11 attacks mark the day he decided to make a change, and each year he climbs he is reminded of why he became a firefighter.
"I was inspired by the events of 9/11 to become a firefighter, and to climb in honor those (New York firefighters) means a lot to me," he said. "They're responsible for getting me where I am today. They really set in motion my idea of firefighters and what they're all about."
A fairly new firefighter when the Twin Towers fell, Capt. Warren Hatton said watching the first responders run into the World Trade Center made him proud of what he and his brothers do.
"As a firefighter watching the events unfold, I was thinking about what was going through the heads of those first responders -- just the enormity of the situation, the chaos, the disbelief of what was happening," he said.
"I try to put myself in their shoes, and it's hard to do. I don't think we can ever really understand what they went through."
For Tyler Crane, who was in grade school in 2001, the events of Sept. 11 didn't really hit home until he became a firefighter.
"I remember pretty much every thing about that day, I just didn't understand it," he said.
But now, as a firefighter, Crane said he feels a deeper connection to that day and the first responders who lost their lives.
"Climbing for one of those guys, doing it for their family, I definitely feel a sense of responsibility to honor what they did."
"These guys didn't quit, so we're not quitting for them," said Jake Blackwell, a firefighter and relief driver for PFD. This was Blackwell's second year participating in the climb.
"Those guys -- those FDNY firefighters -- didn't know what was going to happen that day when they went into those towers, so we're just going up with their memories … we're climbing for them."
As he watched the events of Sept. 11 unfold, firefighter Caleb Dalbey said he felt an internal shift.
"I remember seeing the second plane hit the tower, and I didn't know what to do, what to think. I was confused, I was scared, and I will never forget that day. It seemed like things changed for me that day. I realized how vulnerable we can be as a country … that we can be attacked, too. That was terrifying for me because up until that point I thought we were safe, our country was safe."
This was Dalbey's fourth year participating in the climb and each year, he said, it's the memory of those first responders that keeps him going.
"When I get tired, I'm thinking about the guy that I'm climbing for and thinking that he didn't get to make that climb and I'm finishing it for him," he said. "My goal every year is to finish his climb."
Nearly 3,000 people were killed that day when four planes were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. Another 44 people died when passengers fought hijackers on United Flight 93 and the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania before another attack could be carried out.
"I got to the television before the second plane hit," Smith said. "And as we watched the day unfold, it dawned on me that our country and our way of life were forever changed."
As the 16th anniversary of the attacks approached on Sunday, Smith and five of his fellow firefighters -- Lt. Tim Kirkham, Capt. Warren Hatton, Jake Blackwell, Tyler Crane and Caleb Dalbey -- went to the William R. Snodgrass Tower in Nashville to represent the Paducah Fire Department in the eighth annual Nashville 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb.
They were six of the 343 firefighters from across the country 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-shirt sales for the Fallen Firefighters Foundation, and all the money is earmarked for families directly affected by Sept. 11.
Grouped into teams of seven, each climber was given a badge to carry with the name and photo of a fallen New York firefighter. Each team made four trips, climbing 28 stories each time, for a total of 112 stories -- roughly the same number of stories as Twin Towers.
Once finished, each team walked out into the plaza, read the names of the firefighters they climbed for and rang a silver bell in their honor.
This was the Paducah Fire Department's fifth year participating in the climb, an effort that has been spearheaded each year by Kirkham.
"I look forward to doing this every year," Kirkham said. This was his fifth year participating.
"It's not about us … it's about the people that died that day, we're just the ones lucky enough to still be here to do this in their memory."
Kirkham, a firefighter of 13 years and a son of a retired Paducah police officer, said the events of Sept. 11 opened his eyes to what first responders can face on any given day. "I was just shocked," he said. "And after realizing how many police and firefighters were missing after the towers collapsed, and knowing that my father was a public servant, I mean it hit home."
For Smith, the Sept. 11 attacks mark the day he decided to make a change, and each year he climbs he is reminded of why he became a firefighter.
"I was inspired by the events of 9/11 to become a firefighter, and to climb in honor those (New York firefighters) means a lot to me," he said. "They're responsible for getting me where I am today. They really set in motion my idea of firefighters and what they're all about."
A fairly new firefighter when the Twin Towers fell, Capt. Warren Hatton said watching the first responders run into the World Trade Center made him proud of what he and his brothers do.
"As a firefighter watching the events unfold, I was thinking about what was going through the heads of those first responders -- just the enormity of the situation, the chaos, the disbelief of what was happening," he said.
"I try to put myself in their shoes, and it's hard to do. I don't think we can ever really understand what they went through."
For Tyler Crane, who was in grade school in 2001, the events of Sept. 11 didn't really hit home until he became a firefighter.
"I remember pretty much every thing about that day, I just didn't understand it," he said.
But now, as a firefighter, Crane said he feels a deeper connection to that day and the first responders who lost their lives.
"Climbing for one of those guys, doing it for their family, I definitely feel a sense of responsibility to honor what they did."
"These guys didn't quit, so we're not quitting for them," said Jake Blackwell, a firefighter and relief driver for PFD. This was Blackwell's second year participating in the climb.
"Those guys -- those FDNY firefighters -- didn't know what was going to happen that day when they went into those towers, so we're just going up with their memories … we're climbing for them."
As he watched the events of Sept. 11 unfold, firefighter Caleb Dalbey said he felt an internal shift.
"I remember seeing the second plane hit the tower, and I didn't know what to do, what to think. I was confused, I was scared, and I will never forget that day. It seemed like things changed for me that day. I realized how vulnerable we can be as a country … that we can be attacked, too. That was terrifying for me because up until that point I thought we were safe, our country was safe."
This was Dalbey's fourth year participating in the climb and each year, he said, it's the memory of those first responders that keeps him going.
"When I get tired, I'm thinking about the guy that I'm climbing for and thinking that he didn't get to make that climb and I'm finishing it for him," he said. "My goal every year is to finish his climb."
