News The 9-11 blog
Lambton College to host 20th anniversary 9/11 stair climb

August 25, 2021, Sarnia, Ont. – Lambton College is set to host their own 20^th anniversary stair climb in commemoration of 9/11. The stair climb is a joint benefit for National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) in the U.S. and the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation (CFFF).

The climb will be held at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena on the morning of Sept. 11, and will feature “343 participants climbing the equivalent of 110 stories in honour of the firefighters lost.” said Scott Brown

Brown, a fire safety technology professor at Lambton and coordinator of the stair climb, partnered with the NFFF and CFFF to organize the event.

“This hasn’t been done before, as a joint venture,” said Brown “and they were good about working us through the process – from administration to helping me organize the actual climb itself.”

The desire to organize a local climb came about when Brown realized he would not be able to attend the memorial being held in New York.

“I had started talking about it with my wife and we realized that it just wasn’t going to be a possibility, because of the pandemic and everything being up in the air.” said Brown “I decided to channel my desire to recognize the day, especially on such a significant anniversary, into something bigger than just with my family.”

As a college professor, Brown’s new students weren’t born when 9/11 happened.

“I take opportunities like this stair climb to teach my students the history of this tragedy, but also the pride [of service] that comes along with it.”

Annually, there are posts to social media, hashtags that trend and national moments of silence to commemorate 9/11 and raising money for the families of fallen firefighter’s is an important part of this commemoration.

“It’s about actually getting out and showing these families that we have not forgotten. And to be able to combine this with raising funds to support them on both sides of the border, just feels right.” said Brown.

While registration is now closed, the link to donate can be found here.

All funds donated directly via the site will be in American dollars due to affiliation with NFFF.

All COVID-19 guidelines will be followed for the stair climb.