Unalaska firefighters joined local students on Monday to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
About 100 students completed 117 round trips up and down the city school bleachers — the distance it would take to ascend the 110 stories of the Twin Towers.
Physical education teacher Kent Russell said Unalaska schools have been holding the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb for several years. He said he hopes the event will teach younger generations about the attacks over two decades ago.
“They weren't around when 9/11 happened,” Russell said. “It's a historical event instead of a thing they lived through. And so we do the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in honor of the 343 first responders and the 2,700 other people that died on 9/11.”
Memorial stair climbs have become common across the country. Russell said Unalaska students each completed the exercise in under an hour without carrying additional weight. The Unalaska firefighters who joined them up the gym stairs were dressed in full gear, including oxygen tanks on their backs.
