The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community continues to lead the way when it comes to honoring the first responder lives lost during the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

3 Takeaways:

• This year’s 9/11 Stair Climb was held on Sept. 6. More than 1,200 climbers raised more than $165,000.
• The annual event was the second-largest and second-best-attended stair climb in the country. The first is the stair climb hosted in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
• Participants completed two laps up and down the stadium aisles of Salt River Fields, representing the 110 stories of the two World Trade Center buildings.

It was another record-setting year for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s annual 9/11 Stair Climb at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

This year’s climb, the 10th annual, was held on Sept. 6. It featured more than 1,200 climbers and raised more than $165,000. The event was sponsored by Discover Salt River, the Salt River Fire Department, Salt River Firefighter Charities, Plexus, Banner Health, 98KUPD, State Forty-Eight and others.

For some, like Salt River firefighter recruit Alex Haslam, the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred before they were born, but that doesn’t lessen the importance of community, togetherness and healing in his eyes.

“This is an amazing opportunity to get to know the area, meet some new faces, and see some old ones that I knew from the academy as well as from around the Community and other fire departments,” Haslam said.

Salt River Fire Captain Riley Murph said, “Being here represents our Community; we now have national notoriety because of this event. We’ve raised almost $900,000 over the last decade, and it goes to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, East Valley Firefighter Charities as well as the FDNY Counseling Services Unit, which we’re proud of because we’re not grifting off 9/11; some of that money is going back to the departments and families that this tragedy happened to.”

Furthermore, the climb is the second-largest and second-best-attended 9/11 stair climb in the country. The first is the climb hosted in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“It’s a unique opportunity,” added Haslam, “to be able to connect physically with what these brave men and women did and what they sacrificed, and to really look up to their example and think this is part of what my job involves, obviously.”

Prior to the official start of the stair climb, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Board of Directors Vice Chairman Bill Webb shared opening remarks. “We perform three missions,” he said. “One is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries in the fire service; [the second is] to provide support to the family members for as long as they need it, who are still grieving from the loss of their loved one. And third, to honor our firefighters by creating the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland. This is a tremendous turnout.”

Moments later, three skydivers jumped from an airplane above Salt River Fields and floated down onto center field, each carrying the U.S. flag. All three landed safely and received rousing rounds of applause and cheers.

As for the stair climb, participants completed two laps in the stadium aisles, representing the 110 stories of the Twin Towers. Firefighters from the SRPMIC, Mesa, Queen Creek Fire and Medical, Scottsdale Fire Department and more donned their full kits in memory of the fallen heroes.

With every year’s stair climb seeing an increase in participants, it’s only a matter of time until the SRPMIC is known as the leader when it comes to honoring the first responder heroes we lost to the tragic events of 9/11.