Up The Stairs

On Thursday I'll be participating in a September 11th memorial stair climb at the Firehouse Expo in Baltimore. Those of us participating will be climbing up 5 flights of stairs repeatedly until we reach the equivalent of 101 flights of stairs, the number of flights in the World Trade Center buildings. This is done to honor the memory of 343 fallen brothers from the New York City Fire Department who perished on that day while showing concern not for themselves, but for others.

Since we had the option at registration of choosing who we'd like to climb for, I've chosen to climb in honor of Thomas Sabella from Ladder 13. Why choose this individual out of the 343? All of them are heros. All of them are deserving of honor. So why this firefighter? As with the other 342, I never had the pleasure of meeting Firefighter Sabella. I guess I feel a personal connection with this person, small though it may be, in that he was the uncle of my best friend Jay. Through many stories from Jay over the years about "Uncle Tommy's" deeds and his personality, I've gotten to know this man quite well. His character and his way of doing things not only serve as a constant inspiration to me as a firefighter, but make me strive to be a better person in all I do.

Some might ask why climb the stairs? Particularly in heavy bunker gear. The answer is that it is a small way of paying my respects to those fallen brothers. The slow, steady climb up the stairs allows those of us participating time to reflect on their sacrifice. I think Captain Willie Wines of the Roanoke (VA) Fire Department captured the essence when he stated that in some small way we're helping those 343 brothers to complete their ascent up the stairs since the towers collapsed before they had a chance to finish their climb.

I never knew any of them. I wasn't even in country when the events of September 11th unfolded. I was half a world away with the Air Force watching the events unfold on Japanese TV. As a firefighter myself and more so as an American though, I feel it my duty to ensure those 343 brothers are not forgotten. I'll do my small part by making sure that Jay's Uncle Tommy never is.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that one lay down his life for his brother."

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.