BOZEMAN — In honor of 9/11, Gallatin County firefighters and recruits climbed hundreds of flights of stairs at the Ridge Athletic Club in heavy equipment on Wednesday.
Billy Kutylo is part of the fire training academy, which includes the Big Sky Fire Department, the Bozeman Fire Department, and the Central Valley Fire District.
"I remember where I was on 9/11, and I am sure a lot of other people do as well. What we are doing out here today is remembering everyone that lost their lives," Kutylo says.
He and his peers walked steps equivalent to the 110 stories of the World Trade Center.
"I was trying to push myself to the limit. Just remembering those who came before me and what they must have been going through as they were walking up that stairwell [with] full gear," Kutylo says.
Training captain Steven Thime is wearing full gear while walking on the Stairmaster outside of the Ridge Athletic Club.
"When we put on pants, boots, coat, helmet, and air pack, that's probably 75 to 100 more pounds. You can add a hose to that and carry tools. We easily add 150 pounds to our weight while we are climbing," Thime says.
He says climbing today is for more than just firefighters.
"We did lose 343 firefighters on 9/11. We lost over 70 law enforcement officers and EMS workers. We lost nearly 3,000 people on the 9/11 attacks as well," Thime says.
Ridge operations manager Tanner Roderick is honored to host the memorial climb.
"You know, it's great energy; they are great people. They serve our community very well, so it's always a fun event to host and just support," Roderick says.
For the firefighters in training, they are here to remember those who lost their lives as well.
"So together we work on team building. That way, later in our careers when we encounter each other on a fire scene where there's mutual aid, we are all on the same page and can effectively work together," Kutylo says.
With every step taken, they truly will never forget.
