Local firefighters climb Space Needle steps in remembrance of 9/11

Today marks 24 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Almost 3,000 people died in the World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Millions more live with the impacts of that day.

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Several events across the country are commemorating the lives lost, including here in Seattle. 

Bothell, Renton, and other local fire departments all climbed 848 steps up the Space Needle on Thursday in honor of the 343 firefighters and first responders who died on 9/11.

Firefighters from various South Carolina Departments also participated, both for the 9/11 victims and in honor of those who died in a 2007 Charleston fire that killed nine first responders.

Bothell firefighter Kelly Melton is one of those climbers. She is also completing a personal pledge to climb 110 flights of stairs 343 times, so that she can take the time to honor each life lost.

Today, she is climbing for Jeffrey Walls. He was an FDNY rookie with Ladder Nine on 9/11. He died during that call.

“It’s all about never forgetting and keeping their memories alive,” Melton said.

She says each climb is a reminder of those who never went home.

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“Now that I’ve learned about each of them, I’m walking through a corridor of people that I’ve gotten to know,” Melton said.

She tells us it’s time to pass the torch of remembrance to the next generation, starting with today’s rookies

Bothell firefighter Kacey Moore is climbing the Space Needle for the first time in full gear.

“I’ve never done this before, so I am really excited. I think it’s going to be a really great experience… just paying honor to the firefighters,” Moore said.

Members of the 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion from JBLM also climbed the stairs twice to honor the fallen first responders.