Local firefighters climb the Manitou Incline to honor fallen first responders
It’s a tradition firefighters take part in on 9/11, climbing up 110 flights of stairs like the first responders did 17 years ago, but on the 17th anniversary, it was done with a unique Colorado twist.
Firefighters from across the state gathered in Manitou Springs to hike up to the top of the incline to commemorate the hundreds of first responders who gave the ultimate sacrifice. In the heat and wearing more than 60 pounds of gear, they climbed the nearly 3,000 steps of the incline to the very top.
One of them is staff sergeant RJ Gerry with Cheyenne Mountain Fire Emergency Services. He lost two friends in the terrorist attack. He says they were on the 61st floor when the towers collapsed.
“We climb to honor the 343 fallen firefighters, the 60 fallen police officers, and the 33 flight attendants slash pilots,” says Gerry.
It took about five hours for the firefighters to complete the trek. By the time they made it to the end, they were exhausted.
Jared May with Cheyenne Mountain Fire Emergency Services, says “I’m pretty tired, a little sunburnt. It’s a trek but it builds a comradery between ourselves as fire department.”
Daniel Dejesus with the Aurora fire department says it was rewarding to finish, “It was hot, had to hydrate, but it was well worth it.”
Tanner Masters also with Cheyenne Mountain Fire Emergency Services says what he and his crew went through on the incline was strenuous, but nothing compared to what the fallen first responders went through in New York.
“No matter how many times we do it or how high we can go, it will never compare to what they went through,” says Masters. Aurora Firefighter Mike Harris agrees, “Of course it’s going to be hard, but not nearly as hard as the stair climb that those 343 men that sacrificed their lives. So that’s going to be in the back of our minds the whole time we are doing it.”
Every firefighter we spoke to says they plan on doing this again next year.
To see more photos of their journey, be sure to check out the gallery below:
