Nearly 1,000 Runners Take Part In World Trade Center Stair Climb

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Nearly 1,000 runners remembered the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks by climbing 104 floors at One World Trade Center on Sunday.

Retired firefighter Timothy Brown told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell that he made the climb thinking of two of his fallen brothers.

"I thought of my best friend Terry Hatton, captain of Rescue 1. My other best friend, Capt. Paddy Brown, from Ladder 3," Brown said.

Jennifer Stewart told 1010 WINS' Roger Stern that she did the stair climb to remember the firefighter she was dating who died on 9/11.

"I stopped at the 40th floor because that was the last place they knew he was, so I climbed to the top for him," Stewart said.

The stair climb is sponsored by the Billy Burke Foundation and the Stephen Siller Tunnel 2 Towers foundation.

"They're thinking about the South Tower, the North Tower, the importance of the stairwell on 9/11, the loss of life and the saving of life that day," Frank Siller told 1010 WINS.

Retired FDNY Commissioner Sal Cassano told WCBS 880 that he is moved by this event.

"I see the runners coming across the line and sometimes it's hard to control your emotions," Cassano said.

The proceeds go to college scholarships and homes for catastrophically injured firefighters.