Third annual memorial event draws first responders and residents together, raising over $6,000 for burn survivor camp while paying tribute to the lives lost on Sept. 11
PASO ROBLES — The sound of boots hitting concrete echoed through the Paso Robles Event Center on Saturday, Sept. 6, as dozens of community members and first responders joined together for the Third Annual Paso Robles 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. Hosted by the Paso Robles Professional Firefighters Local 4148, the event paid tribute to the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including the 343 New York City firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Participants climbed the equivalent of 110 stories inside the Paso Robles Event Center grandstands, symbolizing the height of the World Trade Center towers. Firefighters in full gear carried heavy hoses, recreating the load their brothers and sisters bore on that fateful morning in 2001. Others carried lanyards, each bearing the name, photograph, and assignment of a fallen first responder.
“It’s a tribute for 9/11, this year being the 24th year since that day. [The] stair climb is about honoring the courage and sacrifice of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, including the 343 firefighters who climbed those towers and never came back down,” said event organizer Dustin Virgil, firefighter paramedic for Paso Robles Fire Department. “As a department, as a local community, we look at it as an opportunity to come together each year to ensure that their legacy is never forgotten.”
The Stair Climb is more than a memorial — it is also a fundraiser with a purpose. This year, approximately 60 climbers participated, raising more than $6,000 to benefit the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation and its signature program, Champ Camp. The free, weeklong camp is held each summer in Sanger for children ages 5–17 who have survived burn injuries. Each year, about 150 campers spend a week fishing, canoeing, practicing archery, and building confidence in a supportive community of survivors.
After covering event expenses, organizers estimate they will be able to send several children to camp — a number that surpasses previous years’ contributions.
“It’s just a really good experience for them. And obviously, with that being close to our hearts, it’s a way for us to give to a somewhat local organization, and especially to the youth,” Virgil shared.
The Paso Robles Event Center partnered with the firefighters to provide the space for the climb, with participants circling the grandstand’s staircases in four laps to reach the symbolic 110 stories. Local businesses also stepped up as sponsors, writing checks directly to the Burn Foundation to increase the number of children able to attend camp this summer.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of the partnerships that we do have … the Paso Robles Event Center has been amazing to work with and so generous and in offering that space for us each year,” Virgil said. “We also reached out to some local organizations who sponsored the event, meaning they wrote a check, and that money is going directly to the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation to help send those children to Champ Camp.”
The event, which began three years ago as a firefighter-focused remembrance, has steadily grown to include members of the public. Paso Robles Professional Firefighters see it as a way to connect beyond emergency calls and build meaningful relationships with residents.
“As an organization, Paso Robles Professional Firefighters, we’re always looking for ways to interact and engage with our community,” said Virgil. “Outside of the typical job of responding to emergencies, we like to also get out and meet our local community, and it’s just a great opportunity to do that. And while doing that [we] serve a purpose that’s bigger than you or I or any one group.”
For many of the firefighters participating, the memory of Sept. 11 remains deeply personal. Some Paso Robles personnel were already serving in the fire service at the time of the attacks, while others were just beginning their careers. Regardless of where they were, the events of that day shaped modern firefighting practices and policies nationwide.
“The firefighters of FDNY responded, and they didn’t hesitate, and they went into those towers to go save people. That’s what we’re sworn to do as firefighters. And for us, it’s really the pinnacle event that affected the trajectory of so many policies and procedures and things moving forward for us,” said Virgil. “While it happened thousands of miles away, the reality is, since then, other things have happened, other tragedies have happened. It could happen here, it happened there, and really the fire service is a close, tight-knit community. And so for us, it’s our way to recognize that and pay tribute and to realize the impact that our job has on our communities.”
The sense of solidarity across the fire service was evident during the climb. Each participant — whether firefighter, community member, or child — represented the ongoing legacy of those who answered the call in New York 24 years ago.
For Virgil, the event is also a teaching opportunity. His two young sons, ages 6 and 9, participate each year, climbing stairs alongside firefighters and community members.
“They show up to this event and they climb stairs, and they work hard and they get through it. And the bigger message is they know what this is about because I’ve educated them. And to instill that in our youth, know, your history. They weren’t alive for that [9/11], but if we can educate them, I think in turn it raises better humans and it creates a better, more positive trajectory for our nation,” Virgil shared.
That intergenerational connection underscores the broader purpose of the Stair Climb: to remember, to honor, and to inspire.
With participation and donations increasing each year, Paso Robles Professional Firefighters hope to continue growing the event and its impact. For them, it’s not just about raising money or tallying stories climbed — it’s about strengthening the bonds between firefighters, families, and the wider community.
Feature Image: On Sept. 6, Paso Robles Professional Firefighters Local 4148 hosted the Paso Robles 9/11 Stair Climb, which paid tribute to the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including the 343 New York City firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice. Photo by Trisha Butcher courtesy of Paso Robles Professional Firefighters Local 4148
