Firefighters from around the D.C. region converged on the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center Saturday morning for the 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb and Walk.
In all, about sixty people participated in the 110-story climb. The group included firefighters from Joint Base Andrews, Cockeysville, Annapolis, Prince George's Fire Department Carer Recruit School 46, Alexandria, Montgomery County, and Prince Georges County, including Prince George's Fire Chief Marc Bashoor. About a dozen Gaylord National Resort employees also participated in the climb.
The first 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb was held in 2005 in Denver, Colorado, on the fourth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Participants climb 110 flights of stairs, a number which recalls the number of stories in each of the two World Trade Center Towers which were destroyed in the attacks. 343 firefighters lost their lives on that day 11 years ago.
On Saturday, each of the participants in the climb carried a card with the name and picture of one of the firefighters lost in the towers. The Prince George's Fire/EMS Department's main dispatch channel broadcast a radio report of the events of that day in real time. After each incident was described, a moment of silence was kept.
Proceeds from the Memorial Stair Climb will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
