Riley Lehman
•9/13/2026
MARCO ISLAND (WINK) — Hundreds of people are lacing up their shoes and climbing stairs to make sure the memory of September 11 never fades.
The annual 9/11 Stair Climb took place Sunday morning at the Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort and Spa.
More than 200 participants climbed 10 flights of stairs up to 11 times, totaling 110 flights. That number matches the floors first responders climbed to reach the highest levels of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
"It was one of the biggest rescue operations ever in the world. They rescued so many people that day. Those first responders going in," Key Largo Fire Chief Jeff Morse said.
The climb started at 8:46 a.m., the exact time the first plane struck the North Tower. It took participants about two to three hours to complete.
343 firefighters lost their lives that day. Some climbers wore full fire gear in their honor.
Each participant carried a badge with the name of a fallen first responder.
"Everybody gets one of these badges, basically you're carrying their memory up the stairs with you, and then on the back we write down a little bit of information on the first responder that you're carrying," Morse said.
"Going up the stairs, you're all sweaty. It gets a little grimy smelling, but you know, we had it. We have it way easier than the people before us. So definitely, by having that acknowledgement, definitely brings us closer in that way," FGCU Pi Kappa Alpha President Keegan Kunzer said.
The event supports Brotherhood Ride, a group of firefighters and police officers who ride bicycles to honor those who died in the line of duty. The event is the philanthropy of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at Florida Gulf Coast University.
"It's bigger than us, because it's about keeping that remembrance of all the people who sacrificed their lives and had the courage and the bravery to do things that happened that day and go into the fires as well as the fallen buildings and without knowing that they'd ever come back," Kunzer said.
Before starting the climb, participants rang a bell.
"My focus is always on 9/12, how it united the country, how we weren't divided anymore. You couldn't buy an American flag anywhere. People are lined up around blocks waiting to donate blood," a participant said.
Whether climbers completed all 110 flights or only as many as they could, the event served as a tribute to those who lost their lives and the courage shown on that day.
