2 Denver Stair Climbs Honor 9/11 Firefighters, 14 Years Later

DENVER (CBS4) - On Sept. 11, 2001, 343 New York City firefighters were among those killed in the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center.

To mark the sad date on Friday in Denver, participants in two different group stair climbing events honored those firefighters who died.

At Red Rocks, a route was set up that equals the 110 stories of the WTC.

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation sponsors the climb, and the head of that organization says the popularity each year proves it's about the brotherhood and sisterhood of firefighters.

"Everyone knows a firefighter, and when a firefighter is killed in the line of duty it affects not only that immediate family but it also affects the community. It's a sense of loss for everyone," said Cathy Hedrick.

Among those making the climb on Friday morning was Chris Dowdell. His brother was one of the firefighters killed, and he made a trip to Colorado to take part in the event.

In downtown Denver, a similar climb also happened Friday morning at the Century Link tower. A total of 343 firefighters participated in honor of the 343 firefighters killed 14 years ago.(credit: CBS)

It only took 20 minutes for the event to be filled up after registration opened, and that was due to the fact that a lot of Denver-area firefighters, as well as out-of-state firefighters, wanted to be there to honor their fallen brothers.

PHOTO GALLERY: 9/11 Tributes In Colorado In 2015

The climb covered 110 stories of the building, located at 1801 California Street, and it took them to the roof.

Each person climbing carried a photo of a fallen firefighter during their ascent. At the end of the climb, the firefighters are asked to call the family of the firefighter they represented to let them know they haven't been forgotten.

Bob Egan is from New Mexico's Sante Fe County Fire Department.

Egan says contacting the fallen firefighters family afterwards is always the emotional part, "Letting them know they are not forgotten."

The Denver climb is the oldest in the country. It now happens in more than 50 cities across the country and raises $300,000 a year for the FDNY counseling unit.

(credit: CBS)

"Flight 93 actually flew over to Cleveland and we saw it. And when it ended up turning around a little bit later, it was a pretty crazy day," said one firefighter.

Cathy Hedrick with the National Firefighters Foundation says Coloradans are always generous to these events.

"Everyone in the community knows or had met a firefighter, paramedic or EMT," Hedrick says. "Whether we needed their services or saw them out picking up lunch."

Jennifer Brice is a reporter with CBS4 focusing on crime and courts. Follow her on Twitter @CBS4Jenn.