Cambridge firefighters participate in challenge to remember 9/11 victims

Firefighters gathered at a Cambridge gym on Wednesday to pay tribute to the lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City.

The attacks happened 23 years ago and are still considered to be the deadliest terrorist attacks in human history, claiming the lives of almost 3,000 people.

More than 300 of them were firefighters who rushed in to try to save as many people as possible. Some firefighters who escaped from the towers are still dealing with health complications related to that tragic day.

To honour their sacrifice, firefighters set a goal of climbing 110 floors at Cambridge Crunch Fitness gym on Wednesday, mirroring the grueling task firefighters faced in New York in 2001.

Firefighters and community members stood shoulder to shoulder on a series of stair climbing machines during the challenge. Many of them strapped on weights while completing the physical feat.

Black and yellow helmets adorned the front of the machines to honour the fallen.

“The traffic events of 9/11 in 2001 – we lost 343 firefighters and this is just a very small way for us to try to recognize the sacrifices that they made,” Toronto Pearson Airport firefighter Jenny Butt said during the event.

Every drop of sweat shed served as a reminder of the dangerous situations firefighters often face in the name of helping others.

“It’s easy to forget, to continue on with our lives, but I think on Sept. 11 it’s really important that we come together as a community and just honour those people who served,” Cambridge firefighter Shannon Martin said.

This is the second year the gym has hosted the challenge

“I think it’s always important to remember the fallen,” Carolina Pia, Crunch Fitness’ sales director, told CTV News. “It was such an important day. It still impacts all of our members, our families, and even some of our members here are firefighters. One of our instructors is a firefighter so it just touches us all in different ways, but it also bring us all together.”

Last year participants, dressed in full bunker gear, climbed for around 20 to 30 minutes non-stop before switching places.

That event raised $6,000 for the Cambridge Professional Firefighters Association’s Baskets Fund. The initiative provides help for families in need during the holidays. This year, they are hoping to surpass that total.