Steinbach Fire hosts second annual stair climb

In what’s been described as a physical and mental challenge, first responders helped honour those who died in the World Trade Centre on Sept. 11, 2001, by climbing the stairs at Steinbach Credit Union.

Steinbach Fire Department assistant fire chief Russ Toews organized the second annual event and said he was inspired to continue after the 2025 event commemorating 9/11 was a success despite a lack of advertising beforehand.

Just over 100 firefighters took part in the first event representing about seven fire departments.

This year those numbers are up, and Toews said it’s seeing the different fire departments come together that means the most.

“That’s what really gets me going more than the actual numbers, is seeing the coming together of multiple agencies,” he said.

While there are other events like this worldwide, Toews said he is not aware of any other memorial stair climbs in Manitoba.

Stair climbs usually ask participants to climb 110 flights of stairs which matches the total number of stories in each of the Twin Towers.

In the south tower, Battalion Chief Orio Palmer made it to the 79th floor, the highest recorded before the buildings collapsed.

Toews said before they launched their first stair climb, they did the math and figured out firefighters had to do seven complete laps and one more to the third floor to equal the distance.

“Even though it’s a six-storey building, it’s actually the height of a 10-storey building,” he said.

The task is tough.

“People that are in really good shape can maybe pull this off in that 30-minute range,” he said. “Probably most climbers are doing it in 45 minutes if they’re wearing gear and an SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus).”

The physical test is only part of the experience for Toews.

“The beauty of it is it’s all about reflecting in here when you do it,” he said. “And not only on what happened on 9/11 but you yourself taking stock of your life.”

“This is about mental health,” he said. “Life is not about what we do it’s about who we are.”

The lesson that firefighters and other emergency services providers are more than their jobs is something new for many Toews said.

“A lot of our identities have been wrapped up in what we do,” he said. “When you’re a first responder everybody wants the stories. We get lost in that identity.”

“We’re learning that we have to take back who we are,” he added.