Quick Take
Firefighters in Santa Cruz County are preparing for their annual stair climb on Friday to memorialize the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. While always a powerful event, those participating at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos this year think of the importance of passing down the remembrance to younger generations who are increasingly separated from the day of the attacks.
Santa Cruz County firefighters are set to memorialize the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center with their annual stair climb at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos.
Each year, firefighters climb the equivalent of the 110 stories of the World Trade Center in honor of the firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement officers who were killed in New York that day. In total, 343 firefighters, 60 law enforcement officers and eight emergency medical technicians died, along with thousands of civilians.
Kyle Todd, a firefighter paramedic with Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County and this year’s program lead for the stair climb, said it’s an important moment for him and all of his colleagues every year.
“It’s a chance to reconnect, reset ourselves, and continue to show that respect and remembrance,” he said. “We want to let everyone know that the largest number of deaths in the line of duty in the history of the fire services is not forgotten, and something we do not take lightly.”
Santa Cruz Fire Chief Rob Oatey said he was working on 9/11, and the following year went to Manhattan with firefighters from the Watsonville Fire Department, Central Fire and the San Jose Fire Department to participate in the first anniversary memorial.
“It definitely left an indelible mark on me and it’s something I’ll never forget, to learn about all of the individual people and their families, and of course how amazing it was to get together as a profession, and really, as a country on that first memorial,” he said.
Todd, 34, said that even though he was just a child on the day of the attacks, it’s still hard for him to believe that it’s been 25 years: “It still feels fresh, and I can still remember that day and where I was. It’s something that impacted me as a kid greatly and still continues to.”
Todd added that as time goes on, more people joining emergency services, particularly paid-call firefighters who serve on an as-needed basis, are too young to remember the attacks — and some of them might have not even been born yet. That gives the annual climb another kind of meaning to veterans in the service.
“I think that’s a little surreal for a lot of our guys, but I think it’s important to be able to pass that on and acknowledge the people who put down the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “They ran in while everyone else was running out.”
Oatey agreed that it’s “transitioning from a lived memory to more of an institutional memory,” and also said that the events of 9/11 have changed the way fire services operate in general. He said that he won’t be at the climb on Friday because he’ll be at Holy Cross School’s Cookies for Courage event, but other members of the Santa Cruz Fire Department will be climbing the steps.
“It influences how we train, how we prepare for disasters, and most importantly, how we care for each other and how we care for firefighters today,” he said. “That’s something really critically important to the overall remembrance. Taking something positive out of that experience and making sure we carry it forward.”
The stair climb is taking place at Seacliff State Beach on Friday. Firefighters will begin their climb at 8:46 a.m., which is the time that the first plane hit the World Trade Center.
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