Amarillo Fire Department to travel to Dallas for 9/11 memorial

AMARILLO, TX (KFDA) - It has been almost 16 years since 9/11.

With the anniversary approaching, four Amarillo firemen wanted to honor the fallen firemen from that tragic day.

They decided to travel to Dallas to participate in a memorial service called the 9/11 Dallas Stair Climb.

The Dallas Stair Climb takes place to remember the 343 firefighters who died while responding to the attack.

To honor all the firemen who died that day, 343 firemen will climb 110 floors as their fallen brothers did on that day.

"We will be in full gear with air pack," said fireman for the Amarillo Fire Department Cody Swift. "We enter the towers around the first plane hit, and we climb until we have completed the 110 floors."

Each participant wears a tag with the photo of the fireman they are completing the climb for.

When they reach the top, they write the name of the person they climbed for on a board and hand the tag to a loved one they left behind.

"This is a way of giving back and to honor them and their last moment in the towers, and finishing the climb that they started." said Swift. "So its a humbling experience to represent your brotherhood."

"Just seeing what they suffered through," said fireman for the Amarillo Police Department Cody Duffenack. "We do 110 stories in full gear, so the whole time you are hurting, knowing they did that just going in to save anybody they could."

The climb is open for all firemen in Texas, so the AFD say they were lucky to get a spot.

"The opening for it is 8:00 a.m. June 1st, and by 8:03, all 343 spots are taken," said Duffenack.

The AFD firemen who have attended before say the experience serves as a painful but powerful reminder of why they do what they do.

"Seeing that many die at once, and many more willing to go in and give that sacrifice, I think its a big eye opener for everybody about what we actually do," said Duffenack.

The men leave tonight and make the climb this Saturday.

You can find more information on the Dallas 9/11 Stair Climb here.