Firefighters climb stairs to honor fallen comrades

DALLAS Early Saturday morning at the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas, hundreds of firefighters responded to a very personal call.

'It's like a big family,' said Dallas firefighter Kim Anderson. 'I think you support the family when you can; and it's about honoring those who have given their lives.'

In remembrance of the firefighters who died in New York on September 11, 2001, they climbed 110 flights the equivalent of the Twin Towers. Firefighter Brandon Howell explained that they accomplished the feat by going 'Up and down the Omni Hotel five times. We climb up; take the elevator down; and then do it four more times.'

And these firefighters did it while wearing 50 to 75 pounds of gear.

It gets very heavy, very fast,' Howell acknowledged. But he and his fellow firefighters said it helped lighten the load to know that some comrades have sacrificed far more.

'What keeps me climbing is knowing those guys who were lost,' firefighter Ricky Rankin said. 'If they were still here, they would do it again in a heartbeat.'

The stair challenge is as much about paying tribute as it is raising money for the families of fallen firefighters not just the ones in New York, but here at home, too.

'It's important to us, because we know the guys we lost,' said Dallas Fire-Rescue Capt. Mark Combs. 'They were guys we worked with; we knew their families, and we were close to them. We feel their loss all the time.'

They work through it, though, one step at a time; serving and protecting the honorable legacy of those lost.

Organizers said about 200 people took part in Saturday's climb, including about 30 climbers from out of state.

The event coincided with the Fire-Rescue International conference being held in Dallas. The gathering is billed as the world's largest convention of fire chiefs.

E-mail jwheeler@wfaa.com