By Lindsey Erin Kroskob
The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Cheyenne Fire and Rescue firefighters Collin Moody and Jon Haberkorn will take to the stairs of the Qwest building in Denver on Saturday to honor the firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
In full high-rise bunker gear, they’ll join 341 other area firefighters to climb 110 flights, the same as those in the former World Trade Center in New York City.
“When you’re down in the basement of the Qwest building with 343 firefighters, it’s amazing to actually see that amount all in one place,” Haberkorn said. “All those lives were just snuffed out like that in one instant.”
Teams from more than 20 companies will line the stairwell of the building. Each team has to climb it twice, because the Qwest building only makes up half of what the Twin Towers once were.
“You can hear the footsteps five, six floors up — the thumping of feet moving,” Moody said. “It’s a sobering experience, but it’s something that is good for the mind and soul.”
Firefighters from Cheyenne Fire and Rescue have made the annual trek to Denver since 2007. It’s something that the men can do together to build camaraderie and honor those firefighters who lost their lives nine years ago.
Each of the 343 wears a picture of a fallen firefighter around their neck.
“You carry that like a badge,” Haberkorn said.
He has tried to contact the family of his firefighter the last two years.
“I felt completely helpless when that happened because we were so far away,” he said. “There was nothing I could do.”
Then, four years ago, a local firefighter died in a mountain climbing accident. It really hit home.
“How many people it affected to lose one guy and how it affected me,” Haberkorn said. “There are families that lost a brother, father, grandfather - all firefighters.
“It seems like every year this is the one thing I can do to help myself get over it.”
The first year, only a couple of firefighters made it to the event, but the interest has only increased since then. They’ve had to limit it to 11 Cheyenne firefighters the last two years.
“This year, it filled up in eight hours,” Moody said. “It was a mad scramble.”
But the event itself is far from easy.
The firefighters participating this year have been training on stair-step machines for months.
“There will be times when you want to stop because people get hot and tired,” Moody said. “It’s a good reminder of how hard the job is and how hot you can become.”
But they always have each other for backup as they’re making their way up.
Last year, when Haberkorn was struggling, his fellow firefighters took his gear without asking and carried it for him.
“They just saw it in my eyes,” he said. “All of a sudden everybody carried my stuff, and we made it to the top together.”
Moody said he has never really thought about his motivation behind going to the event. He just knows he wants to be there.
“It’s just a good feeling to know that you can make it up there and that you’re doing something that those firefighters were doing, trying to save lives,” Moody said. “You can never experience what they went through, but you can know that you’re participating and honoring their memory.”
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