Northwest remembering fallen firefighters on 20th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks

Firefighters participated in Northwest's inaugural 9/11 stair climb last year to pay tribute to those who lost their lives as a result of the attacks in 2001. Northwest will host this year's event from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at Bearcat Stadium. (Photos by Brandon Bland/Northwest Missouri State University)

The Northwest Missouri State University community is invited to join the University in remembering the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and pay tribute to the 343 firefighters who climbed World Trade Center staircases and perished that day.

In honor of the fallen firefighters, Northwest will host its second annual “9/11 Stair Climb” from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at Bearcat Stadium.

Community members may participate in a 2,071-step challenge as individuals or in teams of five. Interested individuals may pre-register for the event by clicking here; to register as a team, complete one registration form for all team members. All participants will receive a 9/11 laptop sticker.

Additionally, Northwest will play footage of 9/11 on the Bearcat Stadium videoboard, and a flag display will honor those who lost their lives as a result of the attacks. The Memorial Bell Tower, located at the center of the University campus, will chime at 8:46 a.m., 9:03 a.m., 9:37 a.m. and 10:03 a.m., marking the times that each of the four planes crashed on 9/11.

On Sept. 11, 2001, militants hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States, flying two planes into the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City and a third into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., as a fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. A total of 2,977 people died as a result of the attacks, including 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were attempting to evacuate the buildings and save people who had been injured.