GRAFTON - In memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, three firefighters with the QEM Fire Protection District climbed 2,200 stairs to honor 9/11 first responders.
Firefighters Steven Looney and Tyler Feddersen and Firefighter Cadet Bradley Isringhausen donned their equipment and walked up and down the stairs of their three-story live-fire training facility. They logged 2,200 stairs, the equivalent of 110 stories, to recreate the experience of firefighters who responded at the World Trade Center and honor the 343 firefighters who lost their lives that day.
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“It’s really just to pay tribute to all of the firefighters that had fallen during 9/11,” Feddersen said.
The others agreed it was a difficult experience, but a fitting tribute to their fellow firefighters.
“To feel their pain, what they had to go through,” Looney added.
The three climbed 2,200 stairs in about 20 minutes with no breaks. Their families watched as they made the trek up and down the stairs, offering words of encouragement even though it was a sobering image.
Afterward, as they took off their equipment and caught their breath, the trio encouraged people to support their department and those who keep the QEM Fire Protection District running. All three men are volunteers, and they recognized the work of their fellow volunteer firefighters in fire departments throughout the country.
“Support your volunteers,” Isringhausen said. “We put in ten hours with no pay, but it’s all for a good cause, that’s for sure. Just to help people.”
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