First responders climb 110 flights to honor responders who died on 9/11

Image 1 of 7

As the 17th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks approaches, hundreds of first responders filled a downtown street and then climbed 110 stories to honor the police and firefighters who lost their lives.

Bells rang out to honor the 343 firefighters, 70 police officers and 9 EMTs who died at Ground Zero on September 11th.

Christopher Howard’s father was among them.

"He was off-duty that day after the first or second plane hit the tower, he left our house and drove into work, got into a rig with three other guys they drove into the trade center. Around 10:29 they got there right before the 2nd collapse.  Killed in the 2nd collapse,” he said.

Howard is now a New York City firefighter. Days after 9/11, Howard’s family gave George Howard’s police shield to President Bush. More recently, the now-former president posted a photo of it on Instagram.

“He subsequently carried that throughout his Presidency. Sept. 20th, when he addressed Congress, State of the Union, he held up my dad's badge, and said this is his reminder of lives that ended in a task that does not end,” said Howard. “We were all watching his speech, and none of us expected that to happen, no one told us it would happen, out of nowhere he holds it up, a lot of emotions, proud moment.”

Saturday, each first responder wore the photo of a first responder who died in the collapse, and this year, there were 255 additional climbers to represent the number of first responders who have died of an illness or cancer related to 9/11.

Susan Gillispie’s husband is a volunteer Woodrow Firefighter from the Lubbock area.

“The effects of what they're exposed to, sometimes that doesn't manifest until years down the road,” she said.

After 20 years of fighting fires, Gillispie’s husband was recently diagnosed with cancer, as many firefighters are.

“So many people have said would he choose this career again?” she said. ”It's a different breed with first responders, they would do it again, even if they knew that's the plan for them was, he would do it again.”

The first responders climbed 55 stories at Renaissance Tower two times, in order to equal the 110 floors in the World Trade Center towers.

Plano firefighter John Barrett brought the 9/11 stair climb to Dallas.

“It gets very hot and humid in that stairwell. But the conditions that we face here are nothing like they faced that day. We had first responders with,” he said. “I think all of us who knew what was going on September 11th made a vow not to forget.”