7th Annual Salt River Firefighters 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. A nighttime event honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11/2001. Participants will climb 2071 steps at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in honor of the fallen. Proceeds will benefit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the East Valley Firefighters Relief Fund. Learn more at https://www.aztv.com/9-11-memorial-stair-climb/
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00:00 The 7th Annual Salt River Firefighters 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb is a night time event
00:06 honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11/2001. We are talking with two of the
00:12 event coordinators and Salt River Firefighters, Captain Riley Murph and Engineer Terry Kubel,
00:19 about how this honors those who selflessly gave their lives. Okay, I had never heard of a stair
00:25 climb but apparently these events happen all over the country. This is the 7th annual one that you
00:31 guys have been in charge of but it started with just 14 of you. Sure did, yep there was 14 of us
00:36 in the stairwell at Talking Stick Resort and we just said hey let's do something to commemorate
00:41 9/11. Made some t-shirts for the guys and we climbed that tower seven and a half times and
00:46 you know it's a real feel-good thing. We said hey why don't we do something where we can turn this
00:49 into something and make it something good and raise some money. So we got a hold of the National
00:52 Fallen Firefighters Foundation, they were willing to help us and here we are. So the idea is it's
00:57 experiential. You're walking to commemorate firefighters and first responders who walked
01:04 up 110 stories. Correct, yeah. So the idea, we have a badge for every climber that joins us
01:11 and they're carrying that person with them to essentially complete that journey for them to
01:14 the top of the towers. It's two trips through the Salt River Fields ballpark but you can climb as
01:18 little or as much as you want. It's a very great thing to do. You feel great when you're doing that,
01:23 it's awesome. So it's personal, you don't just climb, you can select the badge of an actual
01:30 first responder who died on 9/11. Yes. That's just a beautiful way to commemorate those who died on
01:38 that day but you guys want to emphasize it's also fun and joyful and you can bring the whole family.
01:44 It is, yeah. It's an all-ages thing. You know a lot of people come out just to spectate
01:47 or you'll see somebody that says hey I have a son who's a firefighter in Boulder or Colorado Springs
01:53 or whatever and they want to come out and they want to participate or they want to watch or you
01:56 know somebody just kind of wants to be a part of the event and try to honor those that gave the
02:00 ultimate sacrifice on 9/11. And when you register the money you pay for your fees goes to help the
02:07 Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Talk to me about that. Correct, so the National Fallen Firefighters
02:11 Foundation has a whole bunch of these events across the country and 60% of the money that we raise
02:17 goes to them and then 40% goes to our local firefighter families. The money helps the
02:22 families who have experienced something negative and when their firefighter can't work or something
02:28 like that it helps that money helps them get by. Wanted duty deaths, job-related cancers,
02:32 on the rise, things like that. What a great cause to help the families who are struggling
02:38 when their loved one has sacrificed so much. Well you guys are you guys going this year and here's
02:44 a question. I'm told that some of the firefighters wear their gear. Yeah it's awesome you know we've
02:50 had teams from Chandler Fire, Tempe Fire, Queen Creek Fire. We've had guys come out from all over
02:54 the state and they bring their gear and they're packed out doing it on air. Some of them are
02:57 carrying big American flags. I mean you see that and it's just it's awesome the amount of support
03:01 we've had from everybody all over the state and we've actually had people come from out of state
03:05 and it's just it's an incredible thing to see everybody come together to celebrate these guys.
03:09 We've both done it from time to time over the years but now as it's gotten bigger we have
03:14 kind of more responsibilities where we're not able to do the climb like we'd like to but
03:18 believe me setting it up we're climbing a lot of stairs. Yes we are.
03:20 Before we get to the particulars because I want to let everyone know how they can participate.
03:27 I wondered if you just had any thoughts for your brothers and sisters fighting fires in Hawaii.
03:33 You know our brothers and sisters out in local 1463 in Honolulu we're we're thinking of you.
03:37 You know our hearts are out to you and our hearts are out there with the public as well. It's a
03:40 horrific thing. Thank you so much. Thank you for being here and I want to give you at home some
03:45 details. We invite you to join us, join Captain Murph, join Engineer Kubel for the seventh annual
03:53 Memorial Stair Climb on September 9th to honor and remember the fallen firefighters of 9/11.
03:59 This is a fantastic event organized by the Salt River Firefighters and the National Fallen
04:04 Firefighters Foundation. The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb pays tribute as we mentioned to firefighters,
04:11 police and other emergency personnel who so selflessly gave their lives so that others
04:16 might live on 9/11 2001. Each step around Salt River Fields honors the steps taken by the brave
04:22 men and women who climbed the stairs of the 110-story World Trade Center. Scan the QR code
04:29 or go to our website to register. Come say hi to us from the Daily Mix. We'll be out there September
04:36 9th and we certainly hope that you will be there too.
04:40 you.