War on Terror

September 09. 2012 10:27PM

Firefighters, community members pay tribute to Sept. 11 heroes in Manchester stairclimb

By DAMIEN FISHER
New Hampshire Union Leader

Firefighters and volunteers from fire departments all over the region gathered Sunday morning at the Brady Sullivan Tower , 1000 Elm St., in Manchester to participate in the 9/11 Memorial Star Climb to commemorate the 11th Anniversary of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and honor the 343 FDNY firefighters who lost their lives responding to the World Trade Center. Firefighters ring the memorial bell one time on their way into the stair climb for the FDNY firefighters they honor. (BRUCE TAYLOR/UNION LEADER)

NH communities to honor 9/11

HUDSON -- The town will hold a Sept. 11 observance Tuesday at the Benson Park memorial at 27 Kimball Hill Road.

The observance begins with an invocation at 6:30 p.m. and will include a presentation of the colors by fire and police officers.

The police and fire chiefs will lay a wreath, followed by a presentation of arms by American Legion Post 48. Fire Capt. David Morin will make some closing remarks.

In Rindge, volunteers plan to hold a Remembrance Day service Tuesday morning at the outdoor Cathedral of the Pines.

The memorial includes a reading of the names of the 2,977 people who were killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The memorial event will begin at 8:46 a.m. Tuesday morning and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.

PHOTO GALLERY >> 9/11 Memorial Star Climb

Most New Hampshire Union Leader photographs are available for purchase, as are full page reproductions of the newspaper.

MANCHESTER -- ON TUESDAY it will be 11 years since more than 300 New York City firefighters climbed 110 stories into burning buildings, doing their jobs for the last time.

“It's about trying to remember the events of that day,” said Bill Campbell, who helped organize Sunday's 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at the Brady Sullivan Plaza.

Campbell was a New York city firefighter, stationed in the South Bronx on Sept. 11, 2001. He never wants to forget the sacrifices made during the response to the terror attack on the twin towers.

“It's not just firefighters; there were thousands of acts of heroism,” he said.

Campbell, who now lies in Amherst, spent months working at Ground Zero following the attacks, trying to recover the bodies of those who perished.

“I lost a lot of people I went to rookie school with,” he said.

Close to 300 people signed up to climb the stairs of the 20-story Brady Sullivan building Sunday, each bearing an identification card of one of the firefighters who lost their lives.

U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte carried the ID card for Carl Bedigian as she made the trip up the Elm Street high-rise 5 1/2 times.

“It's a very fitting tribute to the firefighters whose lives were lost serving on 9/11,” she said.

Many firefighters from across New Hampshire took part, donning their turn-out gear — protective clothing, boots, air packs and helmets. Some even carried axes and other tools. In all, the gear can weigh almost 100 pounds said Max Dodge, who works at the Concord Fire Department's Penacook station.

Dodge, also a member of the Army National Guard, said there were a lot of firefighters in the crowd who had already served multiple overseas deployments. Being a firefighter, or a police officer, can be more dangerous than being a soldier, said Dodge, who carried the ID of firefighter Robert King Jr.

Bedford Deputy Fire Chief Mark Klose said the event grew this year, with firefighter family members and others joining in.

“I see a lot of wives now climbing, a lot of husbands, and a lot of people not in fire departments,” he said.

Manchester Fire Chief James Burkush said the event is a reflection of the bonds between all firefighters.

“It goes to show the true depth of the brotherhood that exists,” Burkush said,

dfisher@unionleader.com