By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Lethbridge Firefighters and First Responders preparing for Memorial 9-11 Stair Climb

Aug 27, 2018 | 12:49 PM

LETHBRIDGE – For the past eight years, members from Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services have been holding a Memorial Stair Climb to honour and remember those who lost their lives during the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Centers in 2001.

This year’s event will take place on Sunday, Sept. 9 at the Lethbridge Centre Tower.

A news conference was held at Fire Station #2 on Monday, Aug. 27, where firefighter Mark Matheson spoke about the event, saying it’s put on mostly to raise awareness, but this year they’re also doing it as a fundraiser for the Legacy Place Society.

“The Legacy Place Society is a charity out of Alberta that provides resources and support for our first responders and military suffering from PTSD and crisis. We’ve had some members within Lethbridge that have used the resources so we’re pretty excited to be a part and give back to the organization.”

All money raised from this event will be going towards the Legacy Place Society, and more information on the organization can be found here.

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Matheson went on to discuss the importance of raising awareness, and funds, for those suffering from PTSD and other issues related that first responders deal with.

“It is something that’s been uncovered just in recent years, it’s always been there, it’s just something that we’ve been learning to address as best we can.”

Fire and Emergency Services wanted to encourage members of the community to join them on Sept. 9 to retrace the ascent and decedent of the 110 stories of the World Trade Centre by completing 10 laps of the Lethbridge Centre Tower.

Matheson says this is another way that the community can come together.

“There have been some responders come from as far away as Grande Cache, Alberta, and I see that a number of them have signed up again this year. Looks there is about 10 of them coming, so we get to meet new people, not just first responders but members of the community. We actually have more community members climbing than first responders so that’s really exciting as well because we can talk and get to know each other better,” Matheson said.

One of the challenges of the stair climb for some will be wearing the turnout gear, which Matheson acknowledged is a challenge.

“Wearing turnouts to do 110 stories is a challenge, and you should probably be practising if you’re planning on doing that,” he continued. “Without [the gear], if you’re just in regular workout clothes, it’s not so bad. It’s not so much a race as it is something to complete.”

Anyone interested in registering for the event or to pledge a participant can visit here.