Local firefighters, others commemorate ‘that fateful day’ with climb up 110 flights

Area firefighters, many wearing their full equipment, climbed up 110 flights of stairs at the Yachtsman Resort on Friday morning to mark the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The annual event is hosted by Crossfit Myrtle Beach and was opened up this year to include members of the public. At 8:46 a.m. — the exact time the first plane hit the World Trade Center — around 80 participants, wearing red bandanas, lined up to begin their climb up to the 11th floor of the hotel, walking back down the adjacent stairs and repeating the exercise 10 more times. They were mostly silent during their trek.

Daniel Perez, a Myrtle Beach city firefighter said, “As the pain increases I keep thinking in the back of my mind what they were going through. It wasn’t about them, it wasn’t about the pain they were going through but the need to get up there and help someone in need, in dire need.”

This year’s event raised funds for the Welles Remey Crowther Trust. Welles Crowther, known as the “man with the red bandana” has been heralded as a hero for joining forces with firefighters to save many people on that fateful day and ultimately losing his own life when the towers fell. His trust ‘recognizes and awards academic and athletic excellence in young men and women who serve their communities.

Stephen Schuessler, a Myrtle Beach firefighter and the event organizer, said that the Crowther story motivates him to host the event. “It touches me every time I watch it. It makes me want to come out and be a better person.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 2:27 PM.