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The 12th annual CNY Memorial Stair Climb took place at the Utica State Office Building on Saturday, September 12, 2026. While carrying the name of a fallen first-responder, participants climbed 110 flights of stairs in honor of the brave men and women who ascended the World Trade Center buildings during the 9/11 attacks. (Daniel DeLoach/Utica Observer-Dispatch)
Retired New York City Firefighter Tim Duffy, famous for the now iconic photograph by Allan Tannenbaum of Duffy racing into the dust of Ground Zero on 9/11 on his Harley in full gear, offered tear-choked words to a gathering of firefighters at a candlelight vigil on Sept. 11.
Sept. 11, 2001 was a day off for Duffy, until he learned that planes had crashed into both the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.
Duffy jumped on his Harley and rode to his station house, Engine Company 1 / Ladder Company 24 on Jersey Street in Midtown Manhattan, where he put on his gear and sped on his bike onto Ground Zero.
Retired FDNY Firefighter Tim Duffy, who appeared in iconic photo by Allan Tannenbaum riding his Harley in full gear toward Ground Zero on 9/11, sits on his bike one more time at ceremony installing it as an exhibit at Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Sept. 4, 2026.
There, like hundreds of other first responders, he rushed into the North tower to begin the work of saving lives.
Duffy, married with four young children, would soon be challenged to save his own, as the collapse of the North tower trapped him under its debris and wreckage for a short time before he was able to claw himself free and immediately continue the work and searching for and rescuing, aiding survivors.
Duffy would be forced to retire from the FDNY due to health complications from 9/11-related illness.
Wasting little time in finding another way to serve, Duffy founded the non-profit “1 Soldier 1 Dog 1 Team” shortly after.
Duffy’s words in Utica
In brief but heartfelt remarks at a Utica vigil on the evening of Sept. 11, Duffy spoke of the life of a firefighter.
“We go to work when we’re hurt, when sometimes we’re just not feeling it,” he said. You’ve gotta be there that day, because every day is not going to be a good day…” His message was that good or bad, every day is a day firefighters may be called to save workplaces, homes, churches, schools … lives.
Duffy searched for words worthy of the feelings in Utica’s summer evening air as candle flames flickered in his tear-traced eyes while he compelled the crowd “to never forget.”
“Because…,” added Duffy before emotions stifled his words, “a lot of people have forgotten…”
Duffy shares reflections 
Retired FDNY Firefighter Tim Duffy, subject of photo by Allan Tannenbaum riding Harley in full gear to Ground Zero on 9/11, poses with Oriskany Fire Chief, CNY Stair Climb Founder/Director Jeff Burkhart after Duffy spoke at candlelight vigil in Utica, Sept. 11, 2026.
It was Duffy’s seventh trip to Utica to support the CNY Stair Climb. He said he comes “for Jeff” and “what it is.”
Jeff is Oriskany Fire Chief and CNY Stair Climb Founder and Director Jeff Burkhart.
“I support him for who he is and what he’s done here,” said Duffy, looking around at firefighters from different companies, different towns, even states, talking, smiling, enjoying just being together on this day.
He took a seat and a moment to share some insights into his experience on 9/11 and how it had changed the course of his life.
When asked in what ways 9/11 changed the course of Duffy’s life, he did not hesitate before offering his answer.
“It took the job away from me,” said Duffy, then after a pause, “It took the best job I’ve ever had away.”
But quickly returning his focus forward, he went on.
“It has put me on the path to do what I’m doing now with the dogs,” he concluded.
He then quipped about relatively beating out a larger non-profit “by a nickel” because he has no payroll. He does all the work himself.
9/11 Candlelight Vigil on Sept. 11, 2026
White candles with simple paper circles were handed to all in attendance and lit to cast the gathering in Liberty Bell Park in a halo-like glow.
A mural by local artist, Steven Teller – blending vibrant images of reflecting the city’s history of leading the nation’s transportation evolution – served as the backdrop for the candlelight vigil ceremony.
Kathleen “Katie” Ferrant, who identified as a “climber, a firefighter from Basking Ridge, NJ,” spoke at the candlelight ceremony, directing attention to Duffy, standing off to the side, humble, solemn, and silent.
“Tim Duffy rode his Harley there on his day off,” said Ferrant, “and was a hero that day.”
Retired FDNY Firefighter Tim Duffy, subject of photo by Allan Tannenbaum riding Harley in full gear to Ground Zero on 9/11, waits quietly to say a few words at candlelight vigil on 9/11 2026 in Utica.
Speaking directly to Duffy, who received her words with head bowed, “Your presence here means a lot to us …”
And Ferrant trailed off, as she fought back tears.
Burkhart climbed up on the base of the wooden sculpture central to the square and Spoke of the calling to be a firefighter.
“We are doing what God is calling us to do,” said Burkhart, to the firefighters present. “He needs you, he needs me, he needs all of us.”
He went on, like so many speakers in 9/11 ceremonies that day, to remind of the patriotism, pride, and unity that emerged from the tragic events that day.
“In the entirety of my life, the best of us I ever saw was on Sept. 12, 2001.”
He then called upon Duffy, who stood back quietly in the crowd, his solemn countenance illuminated by the candle he held in his hand, to share a few words.
Harley makes its way to a museum
FDNY Firefighter Tim Duffy, who appeared in iconic photo by Allan Tannenbaum riding Harley in full gear to Ground Zero on 9/11, appears in B/W image of Ground Zero, backdrop to exhibit of his Harley now installed at Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Sept. 4, 2026.
Duffy traveled there on Sept. 4 to convene with photographer Allan Tannenbaum, who snapped the photo of him riding onto Ground Zero that has become one of the most indelible images of 9/11, for a formal ceremony installing Duffy’s Harley and an enlarged version Tannenbaum’s photograph together in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of that infamous day.
“On September 4, the H-D Museum welcomed Duffy and Tannenbaum for a special First Responders recognition ceremony, during which the motorcycle was formally presented to the Museum,” said the Harley-Davidson Museum team in a statement.
“The moment brought together the firefighter, the photographer who documented him on 9/11 and the motorcycle that carried Duffy into one of the defining moments in American history.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Retired NYC firefighter Tim Duffy speaks during 9/11 vigil in Utica