25 years later: 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb honors attack victims, raises thousands of dollars

By Stephen Ellison · Thu Sep 17 2026

Local first responders, civilians complete the equivalent of a World Trade Center 110-story ascent at the Paso Robles fairgrounds grandstand

PASO ROBLES — Dozens of local first responders and community members rose early on Sept. 12 for the Paso Robles 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, honoring the fallen heroes who perished in the attacks on the World Trade Center 25 years ago.

Participants gathered at the Paso Robles Event Center grandstand, where, starting at 9:11 a.m., they ascended and descended the steps across more than a dozen sections of the bleachers, then repeated the circuit three more times to meet the equivalent of 110 stories, the height of each of the former WTC twin towers in New York City.

Many of the firefighters completed the climb in full gear while others carried weighted bags or wore heavy vests. Every participant was invited to wear a lanyard bearing the picture of a first responder who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Before the event started, two participants who recently moved to Paso Robles from New York City shared with the other attendees their firsthand accounts of 9/11 and why they felt compelled to do the stair climb.

Christopher Tabick, a chiropractor in San Luis Obispo whose clients include public safety officers, wanted to honor his aunt Debra DiMartino, 36, who was a broker with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in WTC2, the South Tower.

“She actually witnessed the first plane hit (the North Tower),” Tabick told the Paso Robles Press, recalling that at that moment, no one knew it was a terrorist attack. “She called her husband and said, ‘Oh, what a tragedy.’ But Port Authority asked them to just to sit tight, let’s just get those guys out, and then you guys can all go.”

Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03 a.m. ET, United Airlines Flight 175 slammed into the South Tower. It struck the building just below DiMartino’s office, Tabick said.

“They couldn’t find a staircase to pass through, so one more phone call came in as they were trying to find their way out,” he said. “She slipped into an office space and said, ‘I can’t find a staircase.’” 

Danielle Gibson, who moved to Paso Robles about a month ago and teaches at Cal Poly, is originally from Staten Island, New York. Before the stair climb, she told the gathering she wanted to honor multiple friends who were victims of the 9/11 attacks, including Jackie Cannizzaro, whose husband Brian was a firefighter with Ladder 101; high school classmate Scott Davidson, a firefighter with Ladder 118 and comedian Pete Davidson’s father; and her second cousin Gerald Sanford, a chief’s aide at FDNY headquarters who died in March 2025 at 86 from a long-term illness related to his 9/11 response.

“I just heard about this last night, so I was glad to hear we are keeping 9/11 in our thoughts,” Gibson said to the group. “It’s great to see some young children here. I would just ask, let’s continue to keep this event alive.”

Proceeds from the stair climb go to the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation’s Champ Camp for child burn survivors. Organized by the Paso Robles Professional Firefighters Local 4148 and the San Miguel Firefighters Association, the event’s primary sponsors were Adler Belmont Insurance Group, Adventist Health, Paso Robles Police Officers Association, Central Coast Emergency Physicians, Cypress Mountain Masonic Lodge, Barrelhouse Brewing, Howard Products, Moose Lodge, and Paso Robles Ford.  

Lead organizer Dustin Virgil, a firefighter paramedic with the Paso Robles Fire Department, said the event continues to grow, and he estimated this year’s take at around $10,000 with sponsorship funds, which is more than double last year’s total. Virgil acknowledged the stair climb sponsors and participants in his pre-event address.

“This date means something a little bit different to all of us, but at the same time, I think we all share some of the same thoughts, the same emotions behind it,” he told the group. “In light of what happened 25 years ago, we feel fortunate to be able to come together and pay homage the best way that we know how … The tragedy that happened that day showed one of the ugliest parts of humanity, but the aftermath showed one of the most beautiful parts of humanity. The way we came together as a nation.”

None of the participants seemed to have an easy time with the stair climb. Even 13-year-old Makena Hinrichs, who wore a weighted vest and barely broke a sweat after finishing at the head of the pack, said, “It was pretty hard.” 

Alex Parras made it a family affair with his wife Jaclyn and sons James, 10, and Lucas, 1. Parras carried a 40-to-50-pound backpack, and Jaclyn lugged Lucas in a backpack carrier. A previous participant, Parras said he found out about the event through his reconnection with Virgil.

“When they started doing this event, there was something that we were drawn to because we want to show our support for our first responders and the ones that lost their lives during 9/11,” Parras, a former U.S. Navy Corpsman, told the Paso Robles Press. “We want to remember, and we want our sons to understand what this day means … Although it was a tragedy, it brought a lot of people together as well.”

Taback agreed, saying in the beginning, near Ground Zero, there was a little bit of fear and doubt that quickly turned into courage and service. 

“You’re living on a city street with thousands of people, and now all of a sudden, they’re sharing meals and helping hands and just unprecedented unity around the cause of humanity,” he said. “It’s just one of the most beautiful things that came out of that.”

Feature Image: Participants in the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb pose for a photo Sept. 12 at the Paso Robles Event Center. Dozens of first responders and community members took part in the event to honor those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. Photo by Derek Luff/PRP