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Chattanooga Honors The Fallen Heroes Of 9/11 With Two Local Events

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This Thursday marks the 24th remembrance of the tragic events of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. 

In New York City, it was reported that 2,753 people were killed when the two planes struck the Twin Towers or when the buildings collapsed not long thereafter. 

This included 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers.

On Thursday Sept. 11 and Saturday Sept. 13, there will be two ways the community can honor those lost bey participating in Memorial Climbs.

Chattanooga Fire Department’s annual 9/11 Memorial Climb

Chattanooga Fire Department’s annual 9/11 Memorial Climb is set for Saturday Sept. 13, at AT&T Field. The annual event is in honor of the sacrifices of the brave heroes who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, at the Twin Towers. 

Chattanooga firefighter and Chattanooga 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Director, Thomas Clark, said this year’s Memorial Climb is their 11th annual event.

“It began 11 years ago with Mark Coffman and Britt Bradshaw,” he said. Clark said they did something a bit different than the other nationwide Memorial Climbs. Instead of placing the proceeds into a nationwide pot, Bradshaw and Coffman created a local fund.

“Mark and Britt wanted to have a way to help people here,” Clark said. “We keep all the money here locally and we help first responders, veterans, military personnel here in the Chattanooga area that need help financially.”

Many Chattanooga Fire Fighters will be participating with most wearing their full fire gear attire as they climb the steps at AT&T Field.

The public is welcome to register and can either climb the 110 steps or walk 3.43 miles while carrying the name and image of a service member lost on that day. The 110 steps signify the same number of steps firefighters climbed as they tried to rescue people from the Twin Towers.

Clark said they had a smaller turnout last year due to several first responders being deployed to assist with Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. He hopes more people will be available to participate this year.

Clark said this is also the last year the Memorial Climb will be at AT&T Field. “The Chattanooga Lookouts have been awesome,” Clark said. “They want to keep hosting our event. We have talked and they absolutely want us to come along with them to Erlanger Field. That’s the plan going forward.”

Learn more and register online at tinyurl.com/nooga911

Workout Anytime Hixson Memorial Stair Climb on 9/11

Workout Anytime in Hixson is hosting their 9/11 Memorial Climb on Sept. 11, 2025. It will be open to the public during their staffed hours of 6 a.m. until 10 a.m.

Workout Anytime Area Marketing Director Jessica Keen said they’ve hosted their Memorial Climb annually since 2020 at the Hixson location. 

“Our Memorial Climb is open to everybody in the community,” she said. “You don't have to be a member to come in and participate.”

Keen said there is no registration process. The public is welcome to come on Sept. 11, and do 110 flights on the Stair Master, which Keen said is about 2,000 steps. 

Workout Anytime Hixson has four stair climbers. Keen said people who frequently run, and exercise are usually able to finish the challenge in 30-35 minutes. Beginners should expect to go at their own pace and take their time.

“We will be open to the entire community and encourage them to come out and do it in honor of the fallen heroes of 9/11. I think it's a good time of reflection, even though we're so many years past the tragedy. But I still think that there's a large group of people that still want to do something special that day.”

Keen said local first responders will be offered a free lunch between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Workout Anytime has 19 locations. Keen said many of those are in rural areas of Georgia and Tennessee. She said firefighters sometimes attend the gym’s Memorial Climb if they are too far or unable to attend the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb organized by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation each year. These events are held across the U.S. to honor the 343 FDNY firefighters who died on 9/11, as well as other first responders.

Workout Anytime Hixson