18 years later, we remember

By CHANSE WATSON

Managing Editor

WALLACE — The events of Sept. 11, 2001, affected the lives of people across the world. Because of this far reach, communities across the nation and around the globe honor the fallen of that tragic day in different ways.

Here in the Silver Valley, we climb stairs.

Held on Wednesday morning near the Wallace pool, Shoshone County Fire District No. 1 hosted their third annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb to recognize the firefighters and first responders who paid the ultimate price 18 years ago.

The events of that day claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people — 412 of which were emergency workers simply trying to save lives. Of those 412 emergency workers who perished, 343 of them were firefighters and an additional 200 would die later on from illnesses they got while working at ground zero.

SCFD No. 1 Cpt. and event organizer John Miller was incredibly pleased with the turnout the stair climb had and how things went overall.

“We had over 60 climbers and many more in attendance,” he said. “Community members and first responders.”

In the stair climbs from the last two years, participation was mostly relegated to firefighters and close friends. This is the first year that the public has been openly invited and it showed, considering last year’s climber count was 15 people.

Before Wednesday’s climb began, attendees and participants were treated to a presentation of the colors by the Kellogg High School Marine Corp. JROTC. Following that, Cpt. Miller, SCFD No. 1 Chief Aaron Cagle, Kootenai County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Rick Clutter and SCSO Chaplin Scott Ross addressed the crowd to talk about the significance of the day and event.

“We must not allow the 550-plus firefighters and EMS personnel who have died between 9/11 and now to have died in vain,” Miller said in his speech. “‘Never Forget’ is much more than a slogan, and for those coming after us, it should be a rallying cry for progressive change.”

Chief Cagle then presented Susan Welch, widow of former Northern Lakes Fire Chief Jeff Welch, with a professional photo of her husband and a box of chocolates from Silver Moose/Sadie’s Chocolates. All proceeds for this year’s stair climb will be donated to a memorial fund set up in honor of Chief Welch, who died in June due to lymphoma.

Between registration and T-shirt sales, SCFD No. 1 raised roughly $1,500 for the Jeff Welch Memorial Fund, which will contribute to families of first responders who have suffered a catastrophic injury or died in the line of duty.

Almost acting as a delayed starting gun, SCFD No. 1 firefighter Melanie Shelton then played “Amazing Grace” with a trumpet to signal the end of the ceremony and the start of the climb.

After a quick group drone photo at the Center of the Universe, the climb began at the base of the staircase just west of the pool. After making it to Pearl Street, climbers then went east on the road and headed up the stairs above the viaduct to Olive Street. From there, they went west until they hit the next staircase and went down back to Pearl Street to restart the process.

It took roughly two hours for everyone to complete the 14 laps needed for 110 flights — the same number emergency crews climbed in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Before they started, each participant grabbed a badge with the name and small biography of a firefighter that was killed on 9/11 to carry with them.

In addition to some civilians tagging along, firefighters that made the climb included ones from SCFD No. 1, No. 2, Idaho Department of Lands, KCFR, Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, Selkirk Fire, Mica Kidd Island Fire, Worley Fire and Moscow Fire. Firefighters did the climb in full turn-out gear and wildland firefighters carried their chainsaws.

Members of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office and 911-Dispatch attended as well.

“We had no injuries, only a few puked and everyone seemed to have a good time,” Miller said.

An after-the-climb event was held at Wallace Brewing where folks feasted on sandwiches provided by Backcountry Cafe.

With another successful stair climb in the books, Miller is thankful to those who made everything possible.

“This event could not have been possible without the support from the community and sponsors,” he said.

Businesses that contributed included Local Realty, Backcountry Cafe, Wallace Brewing, The Bean, Sol & Serre, The Ryan Hotel, Vers Fitness and CrossFit Coeur d’Alene.

In the future, Miller hopes to grow the event and get at least 343 climbers to participate so that every badge of a fallen firefighter is carried.