110 Stories, 343 Names: Volusia County Firefighters Mark 25 Years Since 9/11

Volusia County firefighters gathered Friday, Sept. 11, to honor the 343 members of the FDNY who lost their lives responding to the terrorist attacks 25 years ago, taking part in a memorial stair climb that asked participants to physically retrace, in symbolic form, the journey those firefighters made that morning.

Climbing the equivalent of the Twin Towers

The event took place at Volusia County Fire Rescue's Training Drill Tower, where firefighters, county employees and community supporters climbed the equivalent of 110 stories, matching the height of each of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. By repeatedly ascending the tower, participants symbolically retraced the path FDNY firefighters took as they climbed toward danger while thousands of people made their way down and out of the buildings to safety.

The stair climb format has become a widely adopted tradition among fire departments nationally as the 25th anniversary of the attacks approached this year, with similar climbs held by departments across Florida and the country. But for Volusia County's participants, the exercise served a dual purpose: both a physical tribute and a moment for reflection on the sacrifice and commitment to service the day demanded of first responders.

A milestone anniversary

This year's climb carried extra weight as one of the milestone 25th-anniversary commemorations held across the country. Locally, the tribute came the same week Ormond Beach Police Community Outreach Officer Marc Pedevillano, a retired NYPD officer who worked perimeter security at Ground Zero in the weeks following the attacks, shared his own memories of that day with the Ormond Beach community, part of a broader wave of local reflection tied to the anniversary.

Why the ritual endures

Twenty-five years removed from the attacks, many of today's firefighters were small children, or not yet born, when the towers fell. Departments across the country have pointed to that generational shift as part of why events like the stair climb matter: they give newer firefighters a direct, physical way to connect with a sacrifice made by firefighters they never knew, while ensuring the day isn't reduced to a date on a calendar for the community at large.

Volusia County Fire Rescue's climb joins a growing list of similar tributes held throughout Central Florida and across the country this year, each aiming to keep the memory of Sept. 11, 2001, present for a generation increasingly distant from the day itself.