Arlington firefighters embrace ahead of the Dallas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sept. 5 at the Comerica Bank Tower. The ceremony held a moment of silence six times throughout the climb.
DALLAS — Tan firefighter jackets with high-visibility strips lie on the ground at the Main Street Garden Park next to the Comerica Bank Tower on the morning of Sept. 5.
Firefighters, police officers and emergency medical services first responders — 343, 70 and nine respectively — wait to enter the building that stands 60 stories high, one of the tallest skyscrapers in Dallas. Lanyards grace their necks, adding a metaphorical weight that is beyond the grasp of anything physical.
These first responders will climb 49 floors, then go back down, then climb 12, then go back down, then climb 49 floors again.
The men and women will do this in full gear. Some will take breaks. Some will fall at points and not know if they can get back up to finish climbing a total of 110 flights of stairs. Others will cry, holding their pieces of laminated paper to their hearts.
A wall of photos shows the people who died during the 9/11 attacks at the Dallas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sept. 5 at the Comerica Bank Tower. The opening ceremony began at 8:11 a.m.
They will trudge forward and up, not because they can, but because they have to — like the heroes who climbed the burning twin towers in the World Trade Center complex on Sept. 11, 2001.
Firefighter and paramedic James Fussner was one of several Arlington first responders at the 15th annual 9/11 Dallas Memorial Stair Climb. He’s completed the Dallas event 14 times. He’s done the New York Freedom Tower stair climb, too.
The lanyard on Fussner’s neck reads:
“John Bergin
Rescue 5
We climb
because they climbed.”
John Bergin was 39 years old when he died responding to the events of 9/11. He had children and a wife, Madeline Bergin.
Fussner has climbed for Bergin since he began participating in the memorial stair climb and since he met Joe Esposito, a New York firefighter and a member of Rescue 5. Esposito was also at the stair climb in Dallas this year.
Fussner may not finish the stair climb first; he knows it is not a race. But he says Esposito always wants to see him to the top first.
Judson Swindle, Haltom City, Texas, firefighter rests on the ground after reaching the 49th floor during the Dallas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sept. 5 at the Comerica Bank Tower. The event honored the 343 firefighters, 70 law enforcement officers and nine emergency medical services responders who died at ground zero during the attacks.
And for Fussner, that’s an emotional thing. Esposito knew the man that Fussner climbs for and was a responder in New York during the attacks. Esposito has become someone that Fussner knows well.
“It’s something very personal between him and I. Being able to come through the door and seeing him is pretty special,” Fussner said.
He has known Bergin’s family since his first climb.
“We’ve gone to their weddings. We’ve gone on vacations with them,” Fussner said. “They’re family to us now.”
Fussner woke up at 4:30 a.m. Sept. 5, showered, ate and mentally prepared for the climb.
“I need to keep reminding myself why I’m doing this,” he said.
Williamson County firefighter Andrew Allison, left, and Stephanie Allison hold hands ahead of the Dallas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sept. 5 at the Comerica Bank Tower. The event was the 15th annual climb.
His wife, Nora Fussner, stands with their children nearby. When the climb starts, she will think of the wives of first responders who were left widowed. She said the feeling she gets at the stair climbs never changes.
Arlington firefighter Jody Keeler will also climb with James Fussner. The two were part of the same class a decade ago for the Arlington Fire Department, where they worked the same shifts and at the same station at points.
This is around the ninth stair climb the two friends and coworkers have done together. In the park before they start, the two begin to put on over 100 pounds of gear.
First, Fussner puts on his pants and overalls, and then his jacket. He zips it before bending to tuck his tan pant legs into black boots.
Fussner slings the right strap of an oxygen tank over his right shoulder. The left strap follows over his other shoulder.
He wipes beads of sweat from his forehead and puts on his helmet.
In a sea of first responders, he and Keeler walk through the lobby of the Comerica Bank Tower. They slowly funnel into the staircase.
Outside, bagpipes play “Amazing Grace” as the first responders make their climb. A color guard holds flags, standing rigid and strong.
Joe Esposito, New York City Fire Department Rescue Company 5 firefighter, shakes hands with Arlington firefighters ahead of the Dallas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sept. 5 at the Comerica Bank Tower. Esposito said he was pleased to be in Dallas and talk about his experience as a first responder on 9/11.
The stairway is empty of anyone but the climbers. With each step they take, they pass portraits on the wall. Men and women who died in 9/11. Firefighters, police officers, EMS responders.
As he climbs, Fussner looks for a portrait, one of a man who worked at the World Trade Center: the man in the red bandana.
Welles Crowther entered the south tower on 9/11 and escorted survivors to safety. In and out, he continued going back to save more people. Crowther wore a red bandana over his nose and mouth as debris, smoke and dust filled the air.
He died when the tower collapsed. Crowther was 24 years old, according to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum website.
A firefighter reaches for water during the Dallas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Sept. 5 at the Comerica Bank Tower. Participants climbed 110 flights of stairs to honor those who died on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I’d like to see him in there with a lot of other citizens, just so that we know why we’re doing it, but looking at the wall and seeing the guys, of what they did that day, it reminds us why we’re doing it,” Fussner said.
On the 49th floor of the building, firefighters, officers and EMS responders lean against walls or lie on the floor beside their fellow first responders. They breathe heavily.
At the end of his journey for the day, Fussner places his helmet to the side with his fire jacket. The jacket is darker than it started, stained from all the sweat.
Keeler, his fellow Arlington firefighter, sits with his back against the wall and a dri-fit headband over his forehead.
Both men smile at having completed what they set out to do: honor everyone who couldn’t climb with them.
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