IRROC holds 9/11 Stair Climb: 110 flights for 343 firefighters

It was 5:30 a.m. and the sun hadn’t risen yet when a small group of mostly IRR students gathered in the basement of the Dick Building. Introductions were made and each participant received a card with the name of a firefighter who lost their life during the terrorist attacks of September 11. Then they started to climb.

The first 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb was started in 2005 with a group of five Colorado firefighters. Attendance grew and in 2010, the original team from Denver partnered with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to create a system for coordinators to hold stair climbs across the United States. They are now held nationwide. Participants walk the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs, the amount of stories in the Twin Towers. Union held its first stairclimb in 2019 and this is the second time the event took place, due to the pandemic canceling the event in 2020. This year's stair climb was originally scheduled for September 11, but was postponed due to the IRR Disaster Response in Louisiana.

To reach the equivalent of 110 floors, the students walked up and down the Dick Building steps from the basement to the 6th floor eight times. As the minutes dragged on, the sound of labored breathing and footsteps formed a sort of rhythm. As students passed each other on the steps they offered encouragement and positivity saying, “You’re almost there,” “You got this” and “Good job!” Kyle Kuehmichel, a graduate of the IRR program and current EMS Coordinator for Union College, serves as a firefighter and paramedic for Southeast Fire and Rescue. Kuehmichel walked the 110 flights of stairs in full firefighter gear, which weighed about 100 pounds. 

As time went on, my legs began to ache, breathing was harder and most of my attention was focused on fighting back nausea. My thoughts wandered from the events of 9/11 and the endurance of the first responders to wishing I had been better about exercising over the past month. I couldn’t imagine completing this feat with another ounce of weight, let alone the pounds of firefighter gear in the heat of a burning building. The experience gave me a new appreciation for the bravery, heroism and sheer force of will of all first responders.

By Aubrey Benton