By Nathan Willison
LNP
LANCASTER, Pa. — On a brisk and clear Sunday morning, hundreds of first responders and community members gathered at Clipper Magazine Stadium to climb 2,200 steps — representing the 110 stories of the World Trade Center — in honor of the first responders who died on Sept. 11, 200.
For event organizer, Scott Yuill, Sunday’s weather reminded him of that September morning 23 years ago.
“It was gorgeous that day,” Yuill said. “Every time this event is on a beautiful day, it brings back so many memories.”
Over 14 years of organizing the annual event, Yuill, a former firefighter and current chaplain with the East Petersburg Fire Company, says he has seen the impact the event has had for the community of first responders — both for those who were there that day and younger members.
“It gives the whole community a chance to process what happened and keep the memory of what happened alive,” Yuill said. “Both for first responders and the community. This event is really for everyone.”
Since its inception, the annual event has benefited the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s efforts to support the families of fallen firefighters and the New York Fire Department’s Counseling Service Unit.
Mark Cohen, a member of the East Petersburg Fire Company, has been helping to organize the event since it began in 2010. Cohen said support from Clipper Magazine Stadium and the community has been key to the event’s longevity.
“They’ve always been accommodating,” Cohen said of the stadium and its staff. “The crew working out in the parking lot comes in on their own time and helps out just because they believe this event is important.”
Cohen hopes the event can continue to grow and is encouraged by the participation of so many young first responders.
“Half of the climbers here weren’t even alive at the time or can’t remember it,” Cohen said.
Noah Knox and Noah Goldman, both 15-year-old junior firefighters from the Avondale Volunteer Fire Company in Chester County, traveled to Lancaster with members of their company to honor the first responders who died before they were born.
“Those people who were there that day had to walk all those floors,” Knox said, when asked why he decided to participate. “It’s important for us to remember that sacrifice and that cost.”
During the climb, participants could wear a badge representing a specific first responder who died that day. For some, the choice was deeply personal.
Barry Lavender, a former New York City police officer and current Lititz resident, wore badges of his fellow officers.
“If we don’t remember, we forget,” said Lavender, who has been participating in the stair climb since it began. “We leave here with sore legs and feet but it’s important.”
On 9/11, Lavender was working in a housing project in the Bronx. He arrived at Ground Zero in the evening, after the towers fell. Lavender worked alongside cleanup crews that sorted through the wreckage and has seen the long-term health effects first responders have had to manage.
“People should know that people are still dying of cancers they got that day,” Lavender said. “We have to remember all of them.”
John Martinez, a firefighter with the Reamstown Fire Company, knows that reality intimately. In 2018, he lost a close friend, Jimmy Martinez, to 9/11-related bone marrow cancer.
John Martinez was working for New York City Transit on 9/11 when Jimmy Martinez responded to the events, helping to dig through the rubble looking for survivors.
“He was small, but he had a lion’s heart,” John Martinez said of his friend. “He always paid it forward.”
In 2021, John Martinez joined the Reamstown Fire Company in Jimmy’s honor.
Over the years John Martinez has helped to organize bone marrow drives in Jimmy Martinez’s name that have resulted in over 1,400 donations. During Sunday’s climb, he kept Jimmy Martinez’s badge close to his chest.
Ultimately 335 participants made the climb at Clipper Magazine stadium to honor the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The New York City Fire Department announced last year that an equal number of its members have died of illnesses related to the attacks since.
After finishing the climb, Rob Wells and Andrew Palm of the Goodwill Fire Company in Myerstown sat down by the steps, tired but feeling good.
“Compared to two years ago, when I was 50 pounds heavier, I feel great,” Wells said.
Wells, a Lancaster County native, had invited Palm to participate in the event for the first time.
“It’s a toll, but it’s worth it,” Palm said.
Wells and Palm said they were glad to see the community of first responders come together for events like this.
“No matter your race or creed, we’re all united in this,” Wells said. “We’re all working under a badge or a shield.”
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