COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — The annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb returned to LMCU Ballpark Saturday morning, bringing neighbors and first responders together for a day of remembrance.
WATCH: West Michigan community honors 9/11 victims, first responders with annual stair climb
Participants climbed 110 flights of stairs, matching the original height of the World Trade Center towers, to honor the victims and first responders who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“I think it’s just a good way to recognize what happened now 25 years ago,” Fremont Firefighter Zach Scott said.
Saturday’s climb was Scott’s second since joining Fremont Fire in 2024, a decision he made after seeing a need in his community.
“We’re a small rural community but we run a lot of calls so I was just looking to help out,” Scott said.
Scott completed the climb in full firefighting gear as a way to honor the 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and 10 EMS personnel who died while responding to the attacks.
“It’s hard to put yourself in those shoes, but we get a little bit closer by doing it here,” Scott said.
As people climbed, the names of the first responders who lost their lives on 9/11 were read off one by one, followed by a ring of a bell, as participants made their way up more than 2,000 stairs.
This year, steel beams from the wreckage of the North Tower made their way from the Oak Lawn Children’s Museum in Illinois to Grand Rapids, giving people a chance to see a piece of the history firsthand.
“We can never forget,” Bill Egan, a board member at the children’s museum, said.
“Almost 3,000 people, neighbors, brothers, sisters, family members were killed that day," Egan said. "We can never let that slip past us.”
The turnout at Saturday’s stair climb showed that 25 years later, people are still finding ways to honor the lives lost on 9/11.
“I’m amazed by the stair climbs,” Egan said.
“It’s always nice to see how many people show up,” Scott said. “It’s a good day to spend together and just reflect.”
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