The third Saturday in September brings the annual IAFF Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Colorado Springs (yea, CO Springs. Way back in the late 80’s, the local in CO Springs put a bid in for the international memorial and received it). I have attended every year except for one since moving out here, and Ahna and I have attended every year since meeting each other. This year we took Ezra for his first taste of the memorial…

The service recognizes all of the IAFF members that died in the line of duty during the previous year. This past year, Ontario, Canada passed a presumptive cancer legislation – which opened up the doors to dozens of firefighters over the past several decades. The IAFF decided to include all of these firefighters on the memorial; but they have decided to add a few each year. This year they added about 20 of those names to the memorial along with the other firefighters that died this past year…bringing the total number of people added to the wall at 137 – the largest single year addition ever (outside of the 490+ in 2002, which included the 343 FDNY firefighters killed on 9/11). 

About 5,000 people attended this year’s memorial from all over the world (including my Mom and Dad for the second consecutive time; and Cyrilla went down with us for the 5th or 6th time). The service was meaningful, as each family is presented with a flag after the name of their loved one was read. Fire department honor guards from all over the nation also assemble to participate in the ceremony, and CRFD’s had three representatives in this year. It’s an amazing site to see all of the flags and to hear the enormous pipe and drum corps. 

As humbling and emotional as the service is every year, the after-ceremony-bonding is equally relieving and satisfying. Each year we head to an Irish bar in downtown Colorado Springs – Jack Quinn’s – that essentially shuts down to the public and is the place to be if you are a firefighter. While the addition of Ezra means the subtraction of some time at Quinn’s, we still had an opportunity to share a beer and food with a lot of good friends. Ezra did great at the ceremony and at Quinn’s and slept all of the way home…

Hey buddy, hope that you had a great 7th birthday yesterday!!! I was sent these pictures by someone who was at the game yesterday (which the Broncos won!)…just for you.

So Sept 12 is Ezra’s Savta’s (hebrew for grandmother) birthday, and Sept 13 is my cousin Joel’s birthday. Since I had to work on the 12th, we all met for breakfast on the morning of the 13th to celebrate. It was a nice time with everyone and the first time that Jenn had seen Ezra in several months. After breakfast we headed home for a little cake that Ahna had made for Mom and did the classic candle celebration there. 

Ahna, Ezra and I hung around for the better part of the afternoon…well really Ezra and I slept and Ahna hung out. In the evening we went up to Sears and purchased a new washer and dryer. It’s not that ours is terrible, but with the addition of the cloth diapers and Ezra’s clothes, we are doing at least one load of laundry per day…and the appeal of using less energy and less water to accomplish clean clothes was very appealing. We are going to get them delivered in about two weeks, so more on them later.

When I downloaded the pictures from yesterday, I found some from earlier in the week of Ezra playing with a cube. He has figured out how to hold it for a short duration of time as well as how to put at least some of it in his mouth. 

It was a special, special event. I got off of work early: 5am and headed up to the Qwest Building in downtown Denver to meet up with a couple of close friends to do our climb early. Those of us that organized and ran the event did the climb early. 

We started at 6:15 in full gear, completed the first lap in 40 minutes (I went with a friend of mine), and the second lap in 28 minutes (I went on my own). It’s difficult to try to explain how challenging it is to climb 110 flights of stairs in full gear and in a tight stairwell that has no air conditioning and is as humid as the upper midwest. The building is 55 stories tall (including the basement), and the reason that we do it twice is because the World Trade Center was 110 stories. There are plenty of moments of shear exhaustion during the climb, but each of those moments are met with the raw emotion of the memory of the FDNY firefighters and their task. It isn’t too difficult to rise back to your feet and continue on. 

At 8:30 the firefighters started their check-in process and right around 9am, we started the process of gathering everyone together. Chief McGrail spoke to everyone and handed out the rules; as well as explained that each person would receive a name and photo of a New York City firefighter that was killed on 9/11. I chose to climb in memory of Chief Ray Downey, a groundbreaking individual in the world of Special Operations, urban search and rescue, and rescue company operations. I had the opportunity to meet several members of his family at a memorial service in 2002 and received a personal card that I keep in my locker at work. 

My Dad came down to witness the event and we ended up putting him to work for several hours handing out the badges with the firefighters pictures. This was the first time that he was able to make it, and it certainly was special for me to have him there. Next year he says that he would like to climb.

We limited the number of firefighters that could participate to 343 – the number of FDNY brothers that were killed. When everyone is gathered in the garage right before the start of the climb, you get to see what 343 firefighters looks like. It’s a humbling site that should give anyone the chills as you think of everything that was left behind seven years ago. Following a prayer by the chaplain from the Colorado Springs Fire Department, the first group came to the check-in (which is where I was working). We sent them up the stairs at exactly 9:11am. 

We had the groups spaced out and the climbers went up the stairs starting at 9:11 and the last group ended their second trip right after 12:30. We are really proud of the event and I am already looking forward to next year’s. After the climb, the Marriott hotel provided all of the firefighters a free lunch buffet with drinks and ice cream. It really was a special treat. 

This was the 4th annual event…the first year was 5 of us, the second year was about 13 of us, the third and fourth years were 343 of us. To the best of our knowledge, it is the only event like it in the US…and we are really proud of it. 

Video about the event from The Denver Post

Story and video about the event from 9News

Here are some pictures from the day: some are mine, some are from Helen Richardson, and some are from Tim Tonge. That’s me in the ‘God Bless…’ t-shirt. 

Nothing funny, nothing satirical, nothing political. Simply remembrance.

It’s hard to believe that we even have to remind each other to stop and think and remember on September 11 each year; but it’s true. Too many people will go to work, eat lunch with their friends, have a nice dinner at home and never stop to actually think about that day and all of the sacrifice that was made. And the sacrifice that I refer to is the story of the firefighters (there obviously was much more than that, but this is where I wish to draw your attention).

I contend that a firefighter becomes a ‘hero’ the moment that they take the oath to serve their community – at all cost; not the moment that they appear in your newspaper for the first time. As line-of-duty deaths go, extremely rare is the circumstance that the firefighter knows what is about to happen. But September 11 was something different. By all accounts the firefighters that responded down there that day and climbed the stairs into the towers knew what they were getting into: they knew that they would not be coming back down. Yet they went up there anyway, showing a courage and sacrifice beyond description. 

The band Yellowcard wrote a song about the firefighters on 9/11 and I am going to borrow a lyric for this post: “Think about the chance that I never had to say, thank you for giving up your life that day. Never fearing only hearing the voices calling out, let it all go, the life that you know, just to bring them down alive.” I think that a lot of people feel that way, so say ‘thank you’ to the FDNY brothers by taking time to remember them tomorrow. 

For each of the past 4 years, I have taken the time to remember by participating in a stair climb in downtown Denver with other firefighters. We choose to climb 110 flights of stairs, which is the number of floors in the World Trade Center. I will write more about that event afterwards….but I encourage you to find a way: climb stairs, talk about it with your coworkers and family, take a long moment of silence. 

Here is a photo that sits close to my heart; it’s a photo that someone took of FDNY Ladder 118 as it responded into Manhattan. The stunning thing about the photo is the fact that every single member on that ladder company perished shortly after the picture was taken. 

Never ever forget. God bless the FDNY brothers.

The list of the 343 FDNY brothers that died:

Joseph Agnello, Lad.118 Lt. Brian Ahearn, Bat.13 Eric Allen, Sqd.18 (D) Richard Allen, Lad.15 Cpt. James Amato, Sqd.1 Calixto Anaya Jr., Eng.4 Joseph Agnello, Lad.118 Lt. Brian Ahearn, Bat.13 Eric Allen, Sqd.18 (D) Richard Allen, Lad.15 Cpt. James Amato, Sqd.1 Calixto Anaya Jr., Eng.4 Joseph Angelini, Res.1 (D) Joseph Angelini Jr., Lad.4 Faustino Apostol Jr., Bat.2 David Arce, Eng.33 Louis Arena, Lad.5 (D) Carl Asaro, Bat.9 Lt. Gregg Atlas, Eng.10 Gerald Atwood, Lad.21 Gerald Baptiste, Lad.9 A.C. Gerard Barbara, Cmd. Ctr. Matthew Barnes, Lad.25 Arthur Barry, Lad.15 Lt.Steven Bates, Eng.235 Carl Bedigian, Eng.214 Stephen Belson, Bat.7 John Bergin, Res.5 Paul Beyer, Eng.6 Peter Bielfeld, Lad.42 Brian Bilcher, Sqd.1 Carl Bini, Res.5 Christopher Blackwell, Res.3 Michael Bocchino, Bat.48 Frank Bonomo, Eng.230 Gary Box, Sqd.1 Michael Boyle, Eng.33 Kevin Bracken, Eng.40 Michael Brennan, Lad.4 Peter Brennan, Res.4 Cpt. Daniel Brethel, Lad.24 (D) Cpt. Patrick Brown, Lad.3 Andrew Brunn, Lad.5 (D) Cpt. Vincent Brunton, Lad.105 F.M. Ronald Bucca Greg Buck, Eng.201 Cpt. William Burke Jr., Eng.21 A.C. Donald Burns, Cmd. Ctr. John Burnside, Lad.20 Thomas Butler, Sqd.1 Patrick Byrne, Lad.101 George Cain, Lad.7 Salvatore Calabro, Lad.101 Cpt. Frank Callahan, Lad.35 Michael Cammarata, Lad.11 Brian Cannizzaro, Lad.101 Dennis Carey, Hmc.1 Michael Carlo, Eng.230 Michael Carroll, Lad.3 Peter Carroll, Sqd.1 (D) Thomas Casoria, Eng.22 Michael Cawley, Lad.136 Vernon Cherry, Lad.118 Nicholas Chiofalo, Eng.235 John Chipura, Eng.219 Michael Clarke, Lad.2 Steven Coakley, Eng.217 Tarel Coleman, Sqd.252 John Collins, Lad.25 Robert Cordice, Sqd.1 Ruben Correa, Eng.74 James Coyle, Lad.3 Robert Crawford, Safety Lt. John Crisci, H.M. B.C. Dennis Cross, Bat.57 (D) Thomas Cullen III, Sqd. 41 Robert Curatolo, Lad.16 (D) Lt. Edward D’Atri, Sqd.1 Michael D’Auria, Eng.40 Scott Davidson, Lad.118 Edward Day, Lad.11 B.C. Thomas DeAngelis, Bat. 8 Manuel Delvalle, Eng.5 Martin DeMeo, H.M. 1 David DeRubbio, Eng.226 Lt. Andrew Desperito, Eng.1 (D) B.C. Dennis Devlin, Bat.9 Gerard Dewan, Lad.3 George DiPasquale, Lad.2 Lt. Kevin Donnelly, Lad.3 Lt. Kevin Dowdell, Res.4 B.C. Raymond Downey, Soc. Gerard Duffy, Lad.21 Cpt. Martin Egan, Jr., Div.15 (D) Michael Elferis, Eng.22 Francis Esposito, Eng.235 Lt. Michael Esposito, Sqd.1 Robert Evans, Eng.33B.C. John Fanning, H.O. Cpt. Thomas Farino, Eng.26 Terrence Farrell, Res.4 Cpt. Joseph Farrelly, Div.1 Dep. Comm. William Feehan, (D) Lee Fehling, Eng.235 Alan Feinberg, Bat.9 Michael Fiore, Res.5 Lt. John Fischer, Lad.20 Andre Fletcher, Res.5 John Florio, Eng.214 Lt. Michael Fodor, Lad.21 Thomas Foley, Res.3 David Fontana, Sqd.1 Robert Foti, Lad.7 Andrew Fredericks, Sqd.18 Lt. Peter Freund, Eng.55 Thomas Gambino Jr., Res.3 Chief of Dept. Peter Ganci, Jr. (D) Lt. Charles Garbarini, Bat.9 Thomas Gardner, Hmc.1 Matthew Garvey, Sqd.1 Bruce Gary, Eng.40 Gary Geidel, Res.1 B.C. Edward Geraghty, Bat.9 Dennis Germain, Lad.2 Lt. Vincent Giammona, Lad.5 James Giberson, Lad.35 Ronnie Gies, Sqd.288 Paul Gill, Eng.54 Lt. John Ginley, Eng.40 Jeffrey Giordano, Lad.3 John Giordano, Hmc.1 Keith Glascoe, Lad.21 James Gray, Lad.20 B.C. Joseph Grzelak, Bat.48 Jose Guadalupe, Eng.54 Lt. Geoffrey Guja, Bat.43 Lt. Joseph Gullickson, Lad.101 David Halderman, Sqd.18 Lt. Vincent Halloran, Lad.8 Robert Hamilton, Sqd.41 Sean Hanley, Lad.20 (D) Thomas Hannafin, Lad.5 Dana Hannon, Eng.26 Daniel Harlin, Lad.2 Lt. Harvey Harrell, Res.5 Lt. Stephen Harrell, Bat.7 Cpt. Thomas Haskell, Jr., Div.15 Timothy Haskell, Sqd.18 (D) Cpt. Terence Hatton, Res.1 Michael Haub, Lad.4 Lt. Michael Healey, Sqd.41 John Hefferman, Lad.11 Ronnie Henderson, Eng.279 Joseph Henry, Lad.21 William Henry, Res.1 (D) Thomas Hetzel, Lad.13 Cpt. Brian Hickey, Res.4 Lt. Timothy Higgins, S.O.C. Jonathan Hohmann, Hmc.1 Thomas Holohan, Eng.6 Joseph Hunter, Sqd.288 Cpt. Walter Hynes, Lad.13 (D)Jonathan Ielpi, Sqd.288 Cpt. Frederick Ill Jr., Lad.2 William Johnston, Eng.6 Andrew Jordan, Lad.132 Karl Joseph, Eng.207 Lt. Anthony Jovic, Bat.47 Angel Juarbe Jr., Lad.12 Mychal Judge, Chaplain (D) Vincent Kane, Eng.22 B.C. Charles Kasper, S.O.C. Paul Keating, Lad.5 Richard Kelly Jr., Lad.11 Thomas R. Kelly, Lad.15 Thomas W. Kelly, Lad.105 Thomas Kennedy, Lad.101 Lt. Ronald Kerwin, Sqd.288 Michael Kiefer, Lad.132 Robert King Jr., Eng.33 Scott Kopytko, Lad.15 William Krukowski, Lad.21 Kenneth Kumpel, Lad.25 Thomas Kuveikis, Sqd.252 David LaForge, Lad.20 William Lake, Res.2 Robert Lane, Eng.55 Peter Langone, Sqd.252 Scott Larsen, Lad.15 Lt. Joseph Leavey, Lad.15 Neil Leavy, Eng.217 Daniel Libretti, Res.2 Carlos Lillo, Paramedic Robert Linnane, Lad.20 Michael Lynch, Eng.40 Michael Lynch, Lad.4 Michael Lyons, Sqd.41 Patrick Lyons, Sqd.252 Joseph Maffeo, Lad.101 William Mahoney, Res 4 Joseph Maloney, Lad.3 (D) B.C. Joseph Marchbanks Jr, Bat.12 Lt. Charles Margiotta, Bat.22 Kenneth Marino, Res.1 John Marshall, Eng.23 Lt. Peter Martin, Res.2 Lt. Paul Martini, Eng.23 Joseph Mascali, T.S.U. 2 Keithroy Maynard, Eng.33 Brian McAleese, Eng.226 John McAvoy, Lad.3 Thomas McCann, Bat.8 Lt. William McGinn, Sqd.18 B.C. William McGovern, Bat.2 (D) Dennis McHugh, Lad.13 Robert McMahon, Lad.20 Robert McPadden, Eng.23 Terence McShane, Lad.101 Timothy McSweeney, Lad.3 Martin McWilliams, Eng.22 (D) Raymond Meisenheimer, Res.3 Charles Mendez, Lad.7 Steve Mercado, Eng.40 Douglas Miller, Res.5 Henry Miller Jr, Lad.105 Robert Minara, Lad.25 Thomas Mingione, Lad.132 Lt. Paul Mitchell, Bat.1 Capt. Louis Modafferi, Res.5 Lt. Dennis Mojica, Res.1 (D) Manuel Mojica, Sqd.18 (D) Carl Molinaro, Lad.2 Michael Montesi, Res.1 Capt. Thomas Moody, Div.1 B.C. John Moran, Bat.49 Vincent Morello, Lad.35 Christopher Mozzillo, Eng.55 Richard Muldowney Jr, Lad.07 Michael Mullan, Lad.12 Dennis Mulligan, Lad.2 Lt. Raymond Murphy, Lad.16 Lt. Robert Nagel, Eng.58 John Napolitano, Res.2 Peter Nelson, Res.4 Gerard Nevins, Res.1 Dennis O’Berg, Lad.105 Lt. Daniel O’Callaghan, Lad.4 Douglas Oelschlager, Lad.15 Joseph Ogren, Lad.3 Lt. Thomas O’Hagan, Bat.4 Samuel Oitice, Lad.4 Patrick O’Keefe, Res.1 Capt. William O’Keefe, Div.15 (D) Eric Olsen, Lad.15 Jeffery Olsen, Eng.10 Steven Olson, Lad.3 Kevin O’Rourke, Res.2 Michael Otten, Lad.35 Jeffery Palazzo, Res.5 B.C. Orio Palmer, Bat.7 Frank Palombo, Lad.105 Paul Pansini, Eng.10 B.C. John Paolillo, Bat.11 James Pappageorge, Eng.23 Robert Parro, Eng.8 Durrell Pearsall, Res.4 Lt. Glenn Perry, Bat.12 Lt. Philip Petti, Bat.7 Lt. Kevin Pfeifer, Eng. 33 Lt. Kenneth Phelan, Bat.32 Christopher Pickford, Eng.201 Shawn Powell, Eng.207 Vincent Princiotta, Lad.7 Kevin Prior, Sqd.252 B.C. Richard Prunty, Bat.2 (D) Lincoln Quappe, Res.2 Lt. Michael Quilty, Lad.11 Ricardo Quinn, Paramedic Leonard Ragaglia, Eng.54 Michael Ragusa, Eng.279 Edward Rall, Res.2 Adam Rand, Sqd.288 Donald Regan, Res.3 Lt. Robert Regan, Lad.118 Christian Regenhard, Lad.131 Kevin Reilly, Eng.207 Lt. Vernon Richard, Lad.7 James Riches, Eng.4 Joseph Rivelli, Lad.25 Michael Roberts, Eng.214 Michael E. Roberts, Lad.35 Anthony Rodriguez, Eng.279 Matthew Rogan, Lad.11 Nicholas Rossomando, Res.5 Paul Ruback, Lad.25 Stephen Russell, Eng.55 Lt. Michael Russo, S.O.C. B.C. Matthew Ryan, Bat.1 Thomas Sabella, Lad.13 Christopher Santora, Eng.54 John Santore, Lad.5 (D) Gregory Saucedo, Lad.5 Dennis Scauso, H.M. 1 John Schardt, Eng.201 B.C. Fred Scheffold, Bat.12 Thomas Schoales, Eng.4 Gerard Schrang, Res.3 (D) Gregory Sikorsky, Sqd.41 Stephen Siller, Sqd.1 Stanley Smagala Jr, Eng.226 Kevin Smith, H.M. 1 Leon Smith Jr, Lad 118 Robert Spear Jr, Eng.26 Joseph Spor, Res.3 B.C. Lawrence Stack, Bat.50 Cpt. Timothy Stackpole, Div.11 (D) Gregory Stajk, Lad.13 Jeffery Stark, Eng.230 Benjamin Suarez, Lad.21 Daniel Suhr, Eng.216 (D) Lt. Christopher Sullivan, Lad.111 Brian Sweeney, Res.1 Sean Tallon, Lad.10 Allan Tarasiewicz, Res.5 Paul Tegtmeier, Eng.4 John Tierney, Lad.9 John Tipping II, Lad.4 Hector Tirado Jr, Eng.23 Richard Vanhine, Sqd.41 Peter Vega, Lad.118 Lawrence Veling, Eng.235 John Vigiano II, Lad.132 Sergio Villanueva, Lad.132 Lawrence Virgilio, Sqd.18 (D) Lt. Robert Wallace, Eng.205 Jeffery Walz, Lad. 9 Lt. Michael Warchola, Lad.5 (D) Capt. Patrick Waters, S.O.C. Kenneth Watson, Eng.214 Michael Weinberg, Eng.1 (D) David Weiss, Res.1 Timothy Welty, Sqd.288 Eugene Whelan, Eng.230 Edward White, Eng.230 Mark Whitford, Eng.23 Lt. Glenn Wilkinson, Eng.238 (D) B.C. John Williamson, Bat.6 (D) Capt. David Wooley, Lad.4 Raymond York, Eng.285 (D)

The three of us decided to head out of town – just for one night – and we came down to Moffat, Colorado and the area of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. More on all of this later/tomorrow, but here are two pictures: one from sunset at the sand dunes and the other from sunrise at the bed and breakfast.