Astoria, OR – Nineteen firefighters from the Astoria Fire Department and Lewis and Clark Fire made an early morning hike to the top of the Astoria Column in remembrance of the victims and first responders who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
The firefighters left Astoria Fire Department Station 1 at 5:30 a.m. Pacific time, just 16 minutes before the first tower was struck during the terrorist attacks in New York City.
The approximately two-mile hike included a 725-foot increase in elevation as the firefighters made their way to the top of the Astoria Column.
The department said the climb was intended to represent, while never coming close to replicating, the physical challenge faced by firefighters who responded to the attacks and climbed the equivalent of 78 flights of stairs inside the World Trade Center towers.
The 19 firefighters from the two departments completed the climb as a tribute to the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice while attempting to rescue others.
The Astoria Fire Department shared the remembrance with the community and urged residents to keep the victims, their families and the first responders who died that day in their thoughts.
The department also encouraged people to hold their loved ones close while remembering the lives lost on Sept. 11.
“Never forget the victims that were lost and the First Responders that sacrificed their lives for their community,” the department said.
The annual remembrance comes as communities across the country mark the anniversary of the attacks and honor the firefighters, police officers, emergency personnel and civilians who died on Sept. 11, 2001.
For firefighters, the climb also served as a physical reminder of the extraordinary effort made by first responders at the World Trade Center, where firefighters climbed dozens of flights of stairs while attempting to reach people trapped inside the towers.
The Astoria Column hike was designed as a symbolic tribute rather than a recreation of those events, with the department acknowledging that the climb could never match the conditions faced by the firefighters in New York.
The remembrance brought together firefighters from Astoria and Lewis and Clark Fire for a shared tribute to the victims and the first responders whose lives were lost while serving their communities.
