On Tuesday, a group of teens from the Boys & Girls Club of Poplar Bluff helped honor the 343 firefighters who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.
Club members climbed the equivalent of 110 stories of stairs as part of a challenge from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
"It was eye opening for some of the kids...," said unit director Robbie Toth. "They said they couldn't believe how hard it would be, to be a firefighter or military (personnel) trying to help those people out of situations like that."
It was an experience that helped make the events of that day more real for the seventh, eighth and ninth graders who were born after 9/11, said Toth. The club has participated in the challenge for the past four years.
This was the first year the club invited members of Poplar Bluff Fire Department to participate. Firefighter Eric Mierisch did the stair challenge in full turnout gear, said Toth.
Club members had an opportunity to try on the firefighter gear and speak with members of the department prior to completing the challenge.
Seventh-grader Katie Crawford told Toth it was like carrying her entire body weight.
"The kids said (they) couldn't imagine doing that in all that gear. A lot of them want to do this again," Toth said.
It took about an hour for all of the club members to complete the challenge, she said.
The first stair climb occurred in 2005, when Colorado firefighters walked up and down 110 flights in memory of fallen New York firefighters.
The challenge has grown to include more participants every year since, according to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
"We climb to ensure that the fallen firefighters of Sept. 11 are never forgotten; we complete their journey through dedication, training, and physical fitness," the organization reports on its website.
Club members who participated in the challenge were: seventh-graders Bryden Fuemmeler, Evan Christian, Rylan Seesengood, Evelyn Johnson, Aiden Nguyen, Triston Swafford and Kilah Adams; eighth-grader Toby Robertson; and ninth-grader Chris Johnson. This is the second year Robertson and Johnson have participated.