New Mexico firefighters honor fallen 9/11 heroes with memorial stair climb

Fitted in full firefighting gear, including a 75-pound pack, over 100 first responders lined up outside the Washington Federal Building on Thursday morning in Downtown Albuquerque.

They came to scale the structure’s 22 flights of stairs five times to honor what firefighters went through on 9/11 — a day that claimed the lives of over 300 firefighters.

In many of their helmets was tucked a black and white photo of a first responder who rushed into the Twin Towers in New York City 24 years ago, never to come out.

The crews, made up of personnel from Bernalillo County and Albuquerque, took about an hour and a half to scale 110 floors during the annual Albuquerque Firefighters Memorial Stair Climb — first done in the Duke City over two decades ago.

“We must honor the fallen, we must ensure that every decision we make is guided by our own true north, not by convenience or excuses, but by what best serves the people that we are entrusted to take care of,” Albuquerque Fire Rescue Chief Emily Jaramillo said in a news release. “That is the spirit of service. Every decision we make, every policy we set, how we train, every action we take must be measured against one question: does this serve the people that are counting on us when we need it most? That is how we never forget.”

One of the firefighters making the climb Thursday, Magali Holguin, said she remembered watching the Twin Towers fall on television as a child.

Now, in her second year with Bernalillo County Fire Rescue, Holguin said she was inspired by the selflessness of those who sacrificed their lives to save others that day.

“I’m doing this to show my respect and to be united with my brothers and sisters that are here today as well,” Holguin said, sweat dripping down her face while she kneeled on the ground to rest before continuing up the stairs.

Albuquerque Fire Rescue firefighter Daniel Jaramillo said the day was about pushing himself and showing respect for those who died. He challenged himself to make the memorial climb even harder by wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus mask.

Jaramillo said using the mask simulated the same conditions 9/11 first responders went through, adding that it was a humbling moment for him.

“We have the opportunity to give ourselves just a small taste of what they experience,” he said. “There’s not the pressure they felt because they had lives on the line, but we can give some respect and push ourselves to the max.”

The physical process, Jaramillo said, was not nearly as intense as the emotional aspects of the climb.

“I think it’s super challenging. It’s a very emotional process,” he said. “As you’re climbing up the stairs, you feel the energy from your crews, and you know everybody’s feeling the pain all the same, so you keep eating the pain.”

Origins

In the middle of the night in 2003 while serving in Afghanistan, Chuck Cogburn, who was a firefighter for over 20 years, said he felt compelled to memorialize firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11.

Wearing body armor and a helmet and carrying an M-4 rifle, Cogburn decided he would ascend a two-story building 55 times to honor the firefighters lost at the World Trade Center.

A year later, Cogburn returned to Albuquerque and held the first stair climb in the nation, according to a news release from AFR spokesperson Lt. Jason Fejer.

“I was thinking of what those guys were envisioning and facing,” Cogburn said. “The insurmountable task that day of getting people out... I know a lot of them were probably scared and filled with anxiety and adrenaline.”

What began as one man climbing stairs has grown over the years, and now Cogburn returns annually to join firefighters across the nation climbing flights of stairs to commemorate one of America’s biggest tragedies.

“It’s a huge honor to see that it’s grown into this big tradition,” he said. “I think everybody’s kind of reflecting in their own way of how they’re dealing with it.”

As the last of the firefighters exited the building Thursday, concluding the memorial stair climb, an American flag down the street gently waved in the breeze. The sound of bagpipes from New Mexico Fire and Police Pipes and Drums filled the air with “Scotland the Brave.”

Over 100 local firefighters take part in annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in Albuquerque: Photos