San Diego 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb to honor fallen first responders
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- An annual event to honor first responders who lost their lives during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks will be held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel later this month.
People are invited to participate in the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb by climbing 110 flights of stairs, which is equivalent to the height of the World Trade Center.
- Watch the interview with Sara Berns and Doug Nakama above.
According to Sara Berns, the executive director for San Diego Fire Relief Association and FirefighterAid, the stair climb is a living memorial to remember the 403 emergency responders and thousands of civilians who died on 9/11.
The losses included 343 New York City firefighters. Doug Nakama, a retired deputy fire chief with San Diego Fire-Rescue, was among those who flew to New York from San Diego to help with the city's relief efforts.
"I was so honored and humbled by the experience," he told FOX 5/KUSI. "343 heroes gave the ultimate sacrifice and I think about this stair climb every year. It tries to mimic as much as we can with 110 floors that they tried to go up stairs to get people out of harm's way."
The annual stair climb not only commemorates the emergency responders who died on 9/11, but it also serves to raise awareness about their ongoing sacrifices, including impacts to firefighters' health, such as cancer, Nakama said.
The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb will take place at the Hilton Bayfront on Saturday, Aug. 30 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
People who would like to take part in the event in other ways can also fundraise or do a combination of both climbing and fundraising to support the cause. Interested participants can register on sandiegostairclimb.com.
