KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

This Friday, the Tullahoma Fire Department will dress out in full gear and trek up and down the bleacher steps at Wilkins Stadium for the annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.

The climb is conducted by the fire department each year near Sept. 11 to honor the 343 firefighters and first responders who lost their lives in order to save others when the World Trade Center Towers fell 22 years ago after two commercial airplanes crashed into the towers by hijackers. Two other commercial airplanes were also hijacked and crashed at the Pentagon and in an empty field western Pennsylvania about 20 minutes by air from Washington, D.C.

The stair climb will take place at Wilkins Stadium at the Tullahoma High School on Friday, Sept. 8, at 8:30 a.m., where firefighters and climbers will climb 110 flights, or about 2,200 steps, in five laps around the bleachers, the equivalent to what the first responders endured on Sept. 11, 2001.

 Those wanting to participate in the stair climb are asked to visit the TFD Facebook page and scan the QR code on the flyer. Hydration and snacks will be provided by the climbers.

Prior to hosting the stair climb at the high school, the fire department would travel to Nashville to participate in larger stair-climb events with other fire departments to honor their lost brothers and sisters, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the nation in 2020, the larger events was called off in an effort to keep local firemen and women safer. The lack of the Nashville event did not hinder TFD as then THS Principal Jason Quick offered the stadium to then-Fire Chief Richard Shasteen for the fire department host the inaugural stair climb, which has become an annual event for the fire department.  

Anyone with questions can contact the TFD at 931-455-0936.