Utah State hosts annual 9/11 stair climb event
Utah State University and the HURD hosted the annual 9/11 stair climb event at Maverik Stadium on Thursday night. The event is held each year on Sept. 11 in honor of the firefighters and police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty as part of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
“It’s important because for a lot of people, they never grew up with it, or they were really little when it happened. And for others, it kind of happened right in the middle of our lives, and it affected a lot of people,” said Ryan Sadler, a captain with the Logan City Fire Department. “Coming out here just reestablishes those memories. In the fire department, we’re big on our traditions, and we believe in our history. For us, it’s a chance to honor those traditions and honor the history of the men that came before us.”
The evening started with a gathering and program to honor and remember the Sept. 11 attacks, including videos and short presentations from local first responders.
After the program, the attendees took to the stairs at the Stadium to scale approximately 80 stories, the same amount first responders scaled in the first tower following the first attack.
“343 firefighters died in [the attacks]. So, what we’re doing is climbing stairs as close as we can to the same number of floors that they would have had to climb in New York,” said Tom Murdock, a fire instructor at Bridgerland Technical College in Logan.
Fifteen fire cadets from Bridgerland were in attendance with Murdock, all dressed in full firefighting gear.
“You’re carrying between 75–100 pounds of extra gear and clothing that doesn’t breathe. It breathes like a plastic sack. And we’re just doing that in remembrance — to keep that remembrance with us,” Murdock said.
The local fire and police members were joined in the event by a throng of students and community members, who had come to show their support and join in the stair climb.
An American flag hangs over the entrance to Maverik Stadium during the 9/11 stair climb on Sept. 11.
“I’ve been doing this for a few years now, but I just think this is exactly what America is — unity,” said Sydnie Thain, a senior integrated sciences major at Utah State. “This is exactly what we need right now — to come together, to remember those who have fallen for our country, and what it means to be a part of America today. To support each other and to stand up for one another.”
Thain has attended the event each of the last four years during her time as a student at USU.
In addition to showing their support for the local first responders at the event, many participants highlighted the need for increased unity that can be found in honoring those affected by the attacks.
“As time goes on and the world continues to change, people lose sight, maybe, of unity with the country. 9/11 was a tremendous tragedy, especially with all the innocent civilians, firefighters, policemen and all the other people who lost their lives,” said Taylor Kleven, a firefighter-paramedic with Logan City Fire and Cache Valley native. “One of the other guys was just talking. He felt like, after that event, the country was truly united. I think it’s important to come out here and to remember that event and try to come together as a country again.”
“There are bad things that happen in this world, and we do need each other,” Thain said. “The most important thing in this world right now is to love. There’s nothing more important than that. It’s just to love one another and be there for each other.”