Echoes in the stairwell: Remembrance of 9/11
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on September 11, 2017 9:16 PM
Nahunta firefighter Justin Edgerton's turnout gear still smelled like smoke during the annual Sept. 11 stair climb at Wayne Community College Monday.
He'd been to a house fire off of Hickory Crossroads Road just hours prior, but a sense of brotherhood within the first responder community drove him to participate in the event honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice 16 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001.
Edgerton joined other first responders in climbing a symbolic 1,404 steps -- the greatest number of steps a group of firefighters ascended the day the World Trade Center was attacked to rescue people from the floors where a plane had struck the South Tower.
Edgerton, with his turnout gear soaked in fresh smoke, said it was hard to put into words his motivation for taking part in the annual event.
"I cannot explain it to you in words," Edgerton said. "I can't make you feel the way I feel. Therefore, it's impossible for me to explain it to you. It's just a brotherhood that gives you an unbelievable amount of willpower."
Edgerton said he was climbing in remembrance of New York City Fire Department Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, who died the day of the attacks in 2001 while rescuing people trapped inside the Twin Towers.
Palmer led the team of firefighters that reached the 78th floor of the South Tower, the floor where a plane struck the building.
On Monday, first responders climbed the Magnolia building stairs 50 times, completing the symbolic ritual that has come to memorialize those ill-fated firefighters and which is carried out each year on the anniversary of the attacks.
Basic Law Enforcement Training cadets and other first responders wrote the names of deceased New York City first responders on their hands and arms to keep them motivated.
While some climbed in memory of New York City's fallen heroes, others did so in memory of a loss that hit closer to home.
Capt. LeAnn Rabun of the Goldsboro Police Department delivered an emotional tribute to Maj. Jay Memmelaar before starting the climb, fighting back tears as she explained to the cadets and others who Memmelaar was.
Memmelaar was a major with the Goldsboro Police Department who collapsed and died at 49 years old while on duty earlier this year. He served with the department for 25 years before his untimely death.
"He would be proud of us, which is a big deal," Rabun said while heading down a straight-away on her 28th lap. "He was all about making sure we showed respect to everything law enforcement and first responder related, and he was all about being physically fit. Anything we can do to pay tribute to him and all the other heroes, we do."
Rabun lead the BLET cadets on their 50 laps, alternating between a brisk walk and a light jog until all 1,404 steps were climbed.
"I'm actually happy right now," Rabun said. "I was very emotional earlier but I'm tickled everybody is doing well, everybody is pulling together and everybody is doing what we're supposed to be doing out here."
Wayne Community College Paramedic Instructor David Cuddeback and Goldsboro Fire Capt. Chad Cobb each gave brief speeches in Moffatt Auditorium prior to the climb.
Both participated in the climb -- Cuddeback wore his turnout gear, complete with a face mask on, for the entire event.
They urged each participant to remember the cause for the climb, and to always prepare themselves -- mentally and physically -- before taking on their job each day.
The event also demonstrated the camaraderie between branches of first responders, as BLET candidates and active duty officers shouldered firefighters' oxygen tanks and turnout coats as the climb became more and more grueling.
Even after the BLET cadets and active duty officers finished their 50 laps, they continued to make rounds with firefighters in full turnout gear, helping them carry their tanks and coats until they all finished together.
"I can't make you understand it in words," Edgerton said. "You just have to do it. You have to be a part of it to know it."