By Dave Warner
Dan Enea didn’t go to the Mohawk Valley Garlic & Herb Festival on Saturday but instead ended up climbing 110 flights of stairs in Saturday’s CNY Memorial Stair Climb at the State Office Building at 207 Genesee Street in Utica.
This was the 9th annual running of the stair climb in which rescue personnel don their full gear and climb 55 flights up and then 55 down to commemorate the 110 stairs in One World Trade Center. Over 420 people participated in Saturday’s event.
“While the situation was one no responder is ever prepared for, those first and subsequent responders faithfully performed their duties, sacrificing their own lives, which ultimately saved thousands of civilians prior to the collapse,” said event organizers.
They continued, “Every portion of the climb is done in a manner that sparks discussion for those who do not remember/know about 9/11 and pays tribute to the responders.”
“The event is a mixture of first responders that take part in the stair climb to memorialize those taken: police officers, firefighters, all the way to DEC officers. Any first responders can take part in it,” Enea stated.
“Every year when it comes around, it’s something dear to my heart, and being a first responder, I figure it’s a great way to memorialize those who lost their lives.”
He continued, “I can’t feel my legs today, but that happens every year. I’ve been doing this for three years, and it doesn’t get any better. You’re in for a long next day if you’re going to do this.”
Enea said he was packed with oxygen tanks and full turnout gear from the fire department. When asked whether he was breathing the oxygen in the tanks, he said some did, but he didn’t think it really helped. “Those stairwells are so hot that we thought it wasn’t a good idea, so we didn’t do it.”
“Some guys were actually carrying hose with them, and I thought, are you kidding me? I said, wow, that’s really brave.”
In the last couple of years, he said that they’ve opened it up to the public if they don’t fill all the slots with first responders. “They had some open spots this year, which were filled, so it was nice.”
“I think that more people here in the Little Falls area should look into it. At least go and see it for themselves and see how amazing and moving the ceremony is before and after the walk. It’s a really great event that I think a lot of people are not aware of,” Enea stated.
For more information on the climb, visit the website www.cnystairclimb.com.
Photos submitted.
