Cambridge tradition continues to honour firefighters who died during Sept. 11 attacks

Cambridge firefighters and Crunch Cambridge teamed up to climb the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs as a tribute to 9/11's first responders.

A solemn tradition continued in Cambridge to honour the lives lost during the deadly attacks in the United States almost a quarter of a century ago.

Thursday marked 24 years since almost 3,000 people died during 9/11. The aftermath shook the world, and some continue to feel the effects today. Thousands of first responders are now grappling with the long-term health impacts related to their brave response that day.

Their sacrifices continue to be felt in Waterloo Region, as a group of people came together to symbolically mirror their journey.

Members of the Cambridge Fire Department and Crunch Cambridge teamed up to climb the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs at the gym.

“The stairs are representing the stairs that had to be climbed during that tragedy on 9/11 when all emergency crews and civilians had to climb up or down the stairs,” Trevor Wey, a group fitness coordinator at Crunch Cambridge, explained.

Each step was a reminder of what the first responders faced when they rushed into harm’s way to try to save as many people as possible, even before the dust had begun to settle.

“That was a very tragic day, Sept. 11, 2001,” Cambridge firefighter Brad Wickens said. “Three hundred and forty-three firefighters were lost going in to rescue those in the buildings. We are trying to honour them by doing the stair climb.”

This is the third year the fire department and the gym have teamed up for the initiative.

A silent auction was also held to raise money for the Cambridge Professional Fire Fighters’ Association’s basket fund as they gear up to help families in need through the Christmas and holiday season.