26-Year-Old U.S. Volunteer Firefighter Climbs 110 Flights Every Year To Honour 9/11 Fallen | Sahara Reporters

Blythe now serves as a volunteer firefighter and has made the annual climb a personal tribute to the 9/11 firefighters and other emergency responders who lost their lives in the attacks.

Twenty-five years after the September 11, 2001 Islamic terrorist attacks in the United States, a 26-year-old Iowa volunteer firefighter, Taylor Blythe, has continued to honour the firefighters who died while trying to save lives at the World Trade Center in New York.

Blythe was only one year old when the attacks occurred, but he says learning about the sacrifice made by firefighters that day later shaped his understanding of the tragedy and inspired his decision to join the fire service.

“A lot of us were just kids when it happened. We didn’t really realize the impact it would have on us until we got older,” Blythe said, according to live coverage of the 25th anniversary commemoration in New York broadcast by the BBC.

Growing up in Iowa, Blythe said he developed a strong interest in firefighting and became particularly moved by the stories of firefighters who entered the burning World Trade Center towers despite knowing they might not survive.

“Guys just going to work, doing what they do, climbing up 110 flights, knowing that they’re probably gonna die, but if they can save somebody, then that’s just part of their job,” he said.

“That’s why every year I climb 110 flights of stairs to honour them.”

Blythe now serves as a volunteer firefighter and has made the annual climb a personal tribute to the 9/11 firefighters and other emergency responders who lost their lives in the attacks.

His tribute comes as the United States marks 25 years since the attacks that killed thousands of people in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.

In New York on Friday, relatives of victims read out the names of those killed at the 9/11 Memorial at the site of the former World Trade Center complex.

The ceremony was accompanied by the sound of a cello as family members solemnly read the names of the victims.

A series of bells also marked key moments in the attacks, including the first plane’s impact on the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

The first bell prompted a moment of silence at the exact time American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower on September 11, 2001.

Large crowds gathered around the memorial as the ceremony began, with police officers and emergency personnel maintaining security around the area.

The solemn atmosphere was briefly interrupted by the sound of an ambulance in the distance and police radio communications.

Former US presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and George W. Bush were also seen in New York for the anniversary events, accompanied by former First Ladies Jill Biden and Michelle Obama.

Biden was pictured speaking with Bush, who was president of the United States when the attacks occurred.

Along the Hudson River, fireboats also took part in the commemoration, with several vessels spraying red, white and blue water into the air in a water salute.

The 9/11 attacks remain one of the defining events in modern US history, with the annual commemoration bringing together survivors, victims’ relatives, emergency responders and members of the public to remember those who died.

For Blythe, who was too young to understand the tragedy when it happened, the annual 110-flight climb has become a way of connecting with the firefighters whose sacrifice later inspired him to enter the same profession.