Jacksonville firefighters and police officers will climb 2,200 steps at VyStar Ballpark on September 11, retracing in symbolic form the 110-story ascent FDNY crews made into the World Trade Center towers a quarter-century ago. Gates open at 10 a.m. and the climb itself begins at 11 a.m., with families invited to watch, support, and take part in the day of remembrance.
The gathering marks the second annual running of the Jacksonville Firefighter 9/11 Stair Climb, according to the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department, which is organizing the event at the downtown ballpark. The climb honors first responders who answered the call on September 11, 2001, and died in service, and this year's edition carries added weight as it lands on the attacks' 25th anniversary. Firefighters and law enforcement officers are being asked to register ahead of the event, which is open to the public at VyStar Ballpark, located at 301 A. Philip Randolph Blvd.
A National Tradition Rooted in Denver
The 2,200-step format is not unique to Jacksonville. It follows a national protocol requiring participants to climb the equivalent of the World Trade Center's 110 stories while carrying a badge bearing the photo and name of a fallen firefighter, according to Pierce Manufacturing. The tradition traces back to September 2005, when five Denver firefighters in full turnout gear scaled 110 stories of a downtown high-rise to honor their fallen FDNY colleagues, a tribute that later spread to cities across the country.
That single day of loss remains the deadliest in American history for emergency responders. The September 11 attacks killed 343 FDNY firefighters, 71 law enforcement officers, and 8 paramedics, according to figures compiled by Wildfire Intel. Jacksonville's event joins a broader wave of 25th-anniversary observances happening this September, with agencies elsewhere staging similar 110-flight climbs, including recent stair climbs in Greenville and Las Vegas.
Climbing in the Weight of the Job
Participants typically take on the challenge in full turnout gear, including bunker gear and air packs, adding an estimated 50 to 75 pounds of physical load to the 2,200-step climb. That kind of tribute has local roots that predate the ballpark event. Before Jacksonville organized a department-wide gathering, individual area firefighters completed 110-story climbs on StairMasters in full gear weighing roughly 50 pounds, according to WOKV, including JFRD firefighter Nick Billups, who completed the tribute at a Mandarin YMCA in both 2022 and 2024.
The shift from solo stairwell tributes to a public, multi-agency event at an 11,000-capacity ballpark gives regional police, firefighters, and their families a shared space to mark the milestone anniversary together. The host agency brings considerable scale to the effort: Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department operates 68 fire and rescue stations with nearly 1,900 uniformed personnel and an annual operating budget of approximately $400 million, per News4JAX.
A Freshly Renovated Home for the Climb
The venue itself has changed names and undergone a major upgrade in recent memory. Formerly known as 121 Financial Ballpark, the stadium was renamed VyStar Ballpark ahead of the 2025 season following a credit union merger, with naming rights extending through 2040. It opened in 2003 and seats approximately 11,000 spectators, according to MLB.com.
Ahead of the 2026 baseball season, the ballpark also completed a $31.8 million publicly funded renovation known as Project NEXT, adding a multi-level center-field facility, revamped club spaces, and a new videoboard, as Hoodline has reported. That refreshed setting will host firefighters and officers as they carry names and photographs of the fallen up 2,200 symbolic steps, with families lining the ballpark to watch a tribute that has grown from a solo StairMaster workout into a citywide day of remembrance.
