GRAFTON - Local firefighters will honor those lost on Sept. 11, 2001, in a unique way.
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On Sept. 11, 2025, community members are invited to QEM Fire Protection District in Grafton to watch the firefighters climb 2,071 stairs or 110 floors, the number of stairs climbed by firefighters on 9/11. Fritz Meat Market will sell food to spectators. Firefighters Cameron Mank and Victoria Westfall believe it will be a powerful way to remember 9/11.
“It’s just going to be a meaningful event to try to memorialize those who are lost, all the thousands of lives affected,” Mank explained. “Just the idea of it is going to really put it into perspective.”
QEM Fire Protection District has a burn tower on their property at 14905 Elsah Road in Grafton. The firefighters, wearing their gear, will climb the three stories on the burn tower and then back down, and repeat this process for 2,071 stairs.
Mank and Westfall noted that the stair-climb is a way for them to understand what first responders went through 24 years ago. They explained that they completed the climb last year and were “gassed,” even though they weren’t going straight up like first responders did in 2001.
They believe the event will be a powerful reminder of the sacrifice and bravery of those who served. They hope many community members come out to watch the climb and remember the day together.
“It really just meant so much more walking those stairs and getting a small glimpse of what those men and women went through going up those towers. It’s just a humbling experience,” Mank explained. “I’m glad that we have the opportunity and the space to do this and open it up to our fellow first responders and the community to kind of get a glimpse of what they went through.”
For more information about QEM Fire Protection District and their upcoming events, visit their official website at QEMFire.org or their official Facebook page.
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