Last Saturday, 28 members of Wylie Fire Rescue took part in two solemn events dedicated to the memory of the 343 firefighters, 70 police officers and nine emergency medical technicians who lost their lives Sept. 11, 2001.
The WF-R team split between the Dallas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb and the Oklahoma City (OKC) 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, with 25 of them climbing 110 floors—the equivalent of the World Trade Center towers—paying tribute to the fallen Saturday, Sept. 7.
In Dallas, Randall Barber, Travis Martinez, Darrell Buratti, Josh Ludeman, Hudson Harris, Jacob Pryor, Landon Wiggs, Cory Watts, Tyler Butcher, Kyle Edson, Zach Hawkes, Brandon Storm, Justin Taylor, Jordan Davis, Evan Hawthorne, Henry Mejia, Adam Thomas, Brett Hoppe, Carlos Puente, Stephen Ham, Zach Littlefield and Andrew Johnson represented WF-R.
New to the climb this year was Detective Matt Tello of the Wylie Police Department.
In Oklahoma City, Patrick Hewitt and Lizz Rock, climbed in the OKC 9/11 Stair Climb.
“This is the most participants we have ever had,” said Randall Barber, Wylie Fire Rescue driver/engineer and the climb organizer.
Barber added that two individuals from the newly formed Wylie EMS were part of the group participating this year. And as a show of support for the climbers, Barber said “two guys just showed up to play pipes and drums and one chief showed up in uniform.”
The record turnout highlights the department’s commitment to honoring the promise of the fire service and fire department to “Never Forget” the sacrifices made on 9/11.
“Events like these help honor those fallen and ensure we are teaching the next generation,” said the department.
“We are so proud of all our participants today.”
Four days later, Wednesday, Sept. 11, the tradition of honoring their fellow first responders continued at the department’s own 9/11 Memorial Ceremony at Fire Station No. 4 in Wylie.
Photos courtesy Wylie F-R
For more stories about the Wylie community, see the next print or digital edition of The Wylie News. Subscribe today and support local journalism
0 Comments