Today the Eastern Washington University community commemorated the 18th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon by hosting a 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. First responders that day had to run up the stairwells in the World Trade Center buildings to rescue people before the buildings collapsed.
Participants of the Eastern Washington University 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.
To replicate the 104 floors of the World Trade Center, participants did 10 laps up and down the 11 floors of Dressler Hall. Running up the stairwell at Dressler Hall gave all the run participants a small taste of what the first responders experienced that day.
Dressler Hall on the Eastern Washington University campus.
Participants for today’s run included university students, local police officers, firemen, ROTC Cadets and Cadre, and National Guard personnel. The local firemen that participated in the stair climb did it wearing approximately 75 pounds of gear while the policemen wore their body armor. Below are pictures from the event.
EWU ROTC Cadet Everett Kuhnel
EWU ROTC Cadet Ethan Smart
Local firefighters receive a hand from other participants as they complete their last lap wearing full gear.
An absolutely beautiful morning could be seen over the Eastern Washington University campus from the top of Dressler Hall.
Dressler Hall casts an early morning shadow over the “Inferno” at Roos Field.
Big thank you to EWU Police Department and Officer Greg Karlis for organizing such a great event for the campus and the surrounding community to remember the fallen first responders from 9/11. It is planned for the Stair Climb to become an annual commemoration event on campus and hopefully next year the participation will grow even further in size. Finally thank you to all our first responders on campus and in the surrounding community. The bravery, competence, and professionalism shown every day by our first responders is what ensures that our community remains such a safe place to live in.
You are amazing!!
We will never forget….