Ohio Township Fire Department hosts first annual 9/11 stair climb

NEWBURGH, Ind. (WEHT) — The Ohio Township Fire Department honored those who lost their lives on 9/11 by completing its first stair master challenge.

Members of the fire department had the opportunity to climb 110 flights of stairs. Fire fighters also had the option to take the 2,200 steps with their 70 pound equipment. Firefighter Geoffrey Taylor said the challenge was easy when he remembered what it was all about.

“Doing this is a huge challenge to undertake,” he said. “Climbing 110 stories is not an easy thing to do even without gear. But it is a very easy thing to do when you honor those who have sacrificed everything. You suffer for 20 or 30 minutes to honor those who gave their lives for this nation.”

Members of the community also had the opportunity to participate. Taylor said seeing people participate was a bright spot.

“Oh that was super cool to see,” he said. “I’ve got two kids of my own so when kids come around the station it’s awesome to see. I really love when kids can get involved with the things that we do here because that’s one thing we really want to teach kids is fire safety so having them around the station as much as possible really helps out.”

Overall, Taylor said the event was a success; however, he hopes for even more departments next year.

“I would like to see more agencies with us,” he said. “More fire departments and everyone else. Having the public at the station is one of the biggest things that we like the most.”

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