Firefighters take on US challenge in 9/11 tribute

Firefighters from Herefordshire and Shropshire are among hundreds heading to the US for a stair climb challenge marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Becky Barden, based in Prestigne, Leominster-based Beth Jones, and Kat Frost, Stuart Hughes, Andrew Bradbury, Simon Roberts and Luke Alexander from Shropshire are all travelling to Georgia for the Atlanta Stair Climb on Saturday.

More than 1,200 firefighters from around the world will take part to honour the US firefighters who died in the World Trade Centre attacks and their aftermath.

They will climb 110 floors - the same number of floors as the Twin Towers - wearing full firefighting PPE.

The challenge comes as firefighters across the UK remember those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001.

Barden said: "We are travelling to Atlanta in Georgia and climbing 110 floors in full firefighting PPE - leggings, tunic, helmet and boots.

"It's a pretty huge challenge - 110 floors is quite a long way, adding the extra weight and heat of the kit as well."

She said temperatures in Atlanta were expected to be about 32C with humid conditions making the climb even more demanding.

She has been training on a StairMaster cardio exercising machine with a weighted vest, and occasionally in her firefighting kit.

Barden and Jones took part in a practice climb around St Mary's stadium in Southampton.

Barden said one of the biggest challenges was descending.

"The coming down is hard on the knees, the calf muscles," she said. "That was a bit of a surprise to me."

Fitting training around firefighting duties has proved challenging, especially after a busy summer for crews dealing with grassfires.

Jones said she was "very nervous but excited" as she prepared to leave Heathrow airport.

"It feels like it's been a long time coming now," she said.

As well as the Southampton practice, she has trained in Manchester and, like Barden, has been training on a StairMaster cardio exercising machine too.

She said she felt "very proud" to take part in tribute to the firefighters who died in the attacks.

"I'm not that old, but I'm still old enough to understand what that means," she said.

"To see a plane going into a building and still go in and not know what you're going to find, that's unmatched, that sort of bravery."

The five Shropshire firefighters have also been training - completing a 24-hour stair climbing challenge at Anytime Fitness gym in Telford in June.

"I remember getting on the school bus and hearing the news reports, there was no music playing, we were all sat quietly, and then walking home and watching the footage," said Kat Frost.

"Being able to do this to honour those who lost their lives, it's intense - Luke wasn't actually born at the time."

Luke Alexander told the BBC: "I'm quite fascinated when I speak to people - I always wonder where they were when they saw it happened."

"It's nice to be able to honour people".

The group said the memorial climb would be an emotional experience, with each firefighter carrying the name and photograph of one of the people who died.

The firefighters will fly back to the UK on Sunday and Monday.

The 9/11 attacks killed almost 3,000 people after hijacked passenger planes were flown into the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

Among those who died were 343 New York firefighters.

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