WATCH NOW: Leading the climb: Andrew Catron's role in honoring 9/11 heroes

Around them, timeline signs recounted the harrowing moments of 9/11, from the first plane’s impact to the towers' collapse. Climbers heard the chilling radio chatter from that day as each participant wore an ID tag honoring a fallen hero.

Decade of dedication

For almost a decade, 36-year-old engineer Andrew Catron of the Kingsport Fire Department has been the driving force behind the Tri-Cities 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.

As one of the event's coordinators, Catron has helped plan and facilitate nine of these climbs that have taken place every September.

The Tri-Cities 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb is an event that honors the ultimate sacrifice that firefighters and emergency service personnel made on 9/11. All proceeds are donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Catron said he and his co-workers were inspired to host a local event after traveling to participate in various 9/11 stair climbs across the country.

“About 15 years ago, a few guys from work and I would routinely travel to places like Nashville, Charlotte and Richmond where these stair climbing events would take place,” Catron said. “We decided in 2015 that we would try and host our own local event."

The first climb Catron helped coordinate took place in 2015 at Holston Valley Medical Center. Around 100 people showed up to climb, and the event raised $3,500 for the NFFF.

Catron said after the first event, the Tri-Cities climb became officially sanctioned by NFFF.

“This meant that all of our sponsor dollars and donations go directly to [NFFF]. We don’t handle any funds on the local level," Catron said. 

“To date, we’ve raised roughly $394,000,” Catron added. “Last year, our event was the fourth top-earning climb in the country, surpassing even some larger cities.”

The climb has since grown significantly, relocating to Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020. This year’s event had the largest amount of participants, with 700 climbers. 

“We have a wide range of participants coming from all different walks of life," said Catron. "We have first responders, civilians, military and families. We also try to keep an educational value to it; we hang up timeline signage that signifies when the towers were hit and we play the radio communications from that day."

Impactful connections

Among this year’s participants included 29 students from Dobyns-Bennett High School.

Catron said community support has been instrumental in the event’s success, and recalled a memory that highlights the impact of the climb.

“We had a truck driver that was driving by the racetrack; he was a race fan and a veteran,” said Catron. “He saw the big flag and all of us out there. He came out to see what it was. He walked up and climbed in jeans and a T-shirt just because the event moved him.”

Catron spoke of another time when a news reporter was assigned to cover the walk and knew one of her friends’ father that had passed away during 9/11.

“That was a very emotional experience and the girl actually found the person she was climbing for, her friend’s dad.”

So far, this year's stair climb has raised just over $52,000, but Catron said he expects that number to increase.

Once climbers complete 110 stairs, they have the opportunity to speak their fallen hero's name into a microphone and ring a bell in their honor. Participants can also leave a message for their hero's family members through NFFF.

For Catron, the most rewarding aspect of coordinating the Tri-Cities climb has been the connections he’s made with those affected by the tragedy of 9/11.

"I've had the privilege of getting to know families and individuals who lost a loved one that day," Catron said. "It's incredibly rewarding to build these connections and see the impact this climb has on them."

The 9/11 Stair Climbs fund the programs provided by the NFFF to support the families of local fallen firefighters and the Fire Department of New York's counseling service unit.

"It's a tragedy that we never want people to forget," Catron said. "This event helps to make sure we're honoring fallen heroes who sacrificed their life and their families to help that day."