TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Dozens of people on Tuesday laced up their sneakers for the second annual stair climb at the Glass Bowl, hosted by the Horizon Science Academy.
"It's meaningful to me to let them know we appreciate what they did and that we are honoring everyone who passed away, all the first responders and the victims and letting their families know that we do care about their hurt," said Mileckia Townsend, a senior at Horizon.
The event was meant to honor the first responders who climbed 110 stories on this day in 2001. Firefighters like Tanner Duvall are thankful to pay respects to his brave predecessors.
"It's a really humbling experience to be able to participate in something like this because I can't even fathom what it was like on that day, going in full gear, knowing full well that there was a really good chance you weren't gonna make it out," Duvall said.
"This is something that we can do to honor not only the victims but the firefighters who gave their lives that day in some cases," said Nick McClellan, a teacher at Horizon who helped organize the event.
For Duvall, Tuesday marked the anniversary of a decision to run towards a burning building, rather than away from it.
"I remember seeing on the TV a guy running away from the debris cloud and he was crying and I just remember thinking, 'I wanna be the guy to help that guy.' You know, and that changed my life forever," Duvall said.
