ORLANDO, Fla. — Firefighters from across Central Florida met at the City National Bank to climb 110 floors in honor of the hundreds of first responders who lost their lives during 9/11. This year marks 21 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center.
What You Need To Know
- Firefighters had to walk up to the top of the building 4 times in order to meet their goal of 110 floors, the height of the towers at the time
- First responders were among the many who lost their lives during the attack after rushing to the Twin Towers to provide aid
- Over 2 thousand people died during the attacks
As firefighters walked up the City National Bank skyscraper, each step was a tribute to those who never made it to the 110th floor.
Scott Ketcham, a firefighter from Winter Park, carried a photo during his trek up. Pictured in his dress uniform, a portrait of Lieutenant Joe Leavey sticks out of Ketcham's red helmet.
"They wound up making it up to the 78th floor, the south tower, before it collapsed. And ultimately the whole company passed away," said Ketcham.
Members of his family knew Leavey personally prior to the attacks. Leavey died a hero, but more importantly, he lived as one too.
"I definitely stop and I think about it, and I think about how those guys felt. We might be uncomfortable now, but they were doing it for a purpose," he said.
A family member of Ketcham's was a New York City firefighter. He watched as men and women worked their way up the sprawling staircases today, just as he knew ones who took the same steps exactly 21 years ago.
Firefighters had to walk up the City National Bank building four times to account for the 110 floors of the World Trade Center.
But at the top, there was a moment of tribute and victory. Located upstairs is a wall with hundreds of names scrawled in sharpie, and after Sunday's event even more were memorialized.