Southern Stone County Firefighters Climb To Honor Those Lost On 9/11
September 12, 2019
Ten members of the 14 person-strong Southern Stone County Fire Protection District stair climb team are pictured above. Due to the fire district’s policies and the age of some of the participants, names for all members are not available. However, Chaplain Jim Cummings can be seen in the center.
Isaac Estes-Jones
Southern Stone County firefighters participated in the 7th annual Springfield Area Memorial Stairclimb on Saturday, September 7. These 14 Stone County firefighters joined over 300 other people, representing five states, in remembering the 343 firefighters who lost their lives during the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks.
According to Julie Mercer, Marketing and Sponsor Director with the Springfield Area Memorial Stairclimb organization, this is the first year of the area stair climb has exceeded 343 participants. “This year, we exceeded the 343 for the first time. The 343 represents the number of firefighters who lost their lives on 9-11,” she said. The organization typically uses the number 343+. “The plus is for law enforcement, EMTs and others who also lost their lives, in addition to those who have lost their lives from 9-11 related illnesses in the years since the tragedy,” said Mercer.
Participants included firefighters from across the region, other first responder groups, such as EMS and police departments, as well as the military. Participants raised money for the National Fallen Firefighters (NFFF) Foundation. The foundation provides assistance to the families of the firefighters lost in 9/11 and their coworkers. The Stone County team, led by Lt. Dylan Honea, raised over $3,700 this year, with all of those funds going directly to NFFF. “Southern Stone County is one of our top fundraisers every year,” said Mercer.
A local team honors their fire family
“One thing I always tell my team,” Honea said, “is how big an honor doing this is. Knowing that even 18 years later, we can do something that directly helps, that gives a really good feeling.”
“This was my fifth stair climb,” said Honea. “Each member climbs the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs, representing the number of floors in the Twin Towers,” he said.
“We go as a team and raise donations for the NFFF. Those donations are strictly to help the families of fallen firefighters. Some of that also goes to support those who were impacted by the 9-11 attacks,” he said.
There a large need for this sort of funding in the fire service, Honea explained. “Ultimately, there’s not a lot of funding for the fire service, especially for the fallen. I want to help support those families. When they lose someone, they aren’t just losing a loved one, they are losing a full income and still have to get by. We are honoring all of them by helping out with this organization.
“Even though I was a lot younger when the attacks happened, those who fell are my brothers and sisters. The fire service is a big family. I can’t not do it,” Honea said. “Missouri also has fire funeral assist teams that help families. We can go out and honor our fallen family and help their loved ones get everything sorted out. I’m glad to be part of that as well,” he said.
Every year, there are numerous stair climbs across the country to remember the fallen firefighters and others who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “This [Springfield event] is the closest to us,” said Honea. “There’s a lot of pride in taking part in one of these. I will be taking some of my team to Jefferson City on October 19 for a stair climb there put on by the Division of Fire Safety,” he said.
Chaplain climbs as ministry of presence
Southern Stone County Fire District’s Chaplain Jim Cummings, also participated in the event for the last five years. He serves as the chaplain for the stair climb, as well.
“I’m the chaplain now, but I understand what firefighters go through because I’ve been there. I’ve been a paramedic for 29 years,” he said.
Cummings carries the names of several of the fallen each year, including Chaplain Mychal Judge. “I got involved partially because I knew heard the story of Chaplain Mychal Judge, the first recorded fatality from 9/11,” he said. “Judge was going into the north tower and the called over and said, ‘Father Mike, please pray for us.’ When the north tower was ordered evacuated, he stayed inside, said ‘no, I’ve still got people inside so I still have work to do.’ He was struck by debris when the south tower fell and became the first verified fatality that day.
“I thought, ‘wow, what a ministry of presence,’ and that’s what being a chaplain is all about, a ministry of presence,” Cummings said. “I carry Judge’s tag very year to honor him. He was very beloved.”
Cummings participates in these events for a number of reasons. One of them, he said, is to further show those participants that he can understand and is there for them. “That’s the impact of it. I know the impact of the culture, even though I’m a chaplain now, I’m still full time EMS. So I have the advantage of understanding an aspect of the culture. I want to be a part of it so when people do have problems, they can call me because they know I understand,” he said. “I’m also 20 to 30 years older than a lot of the people doing the climbs, so it pushes me to stay in shape.”
“Last year, I wrote about the ripple effect from 9/11. Since that day in 2001, over 300 more firefighters have died of related illnesses, including cancer and suicide,” said Cummings, “That’s a huge reason why this is so important to help out with.”
How to help out
“There are lots of ways to donate and help out,” said Honea. “We always accept donations to help with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. If anyone wants to donate, they can contact meat 417 272 1510, which is the station’s number. If I’m not there, they can leave a message for me or go online to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to donate that way. This year we raised over $3,700 and that all goes directly to the foundation. We don’t keep any of that,” he said. The website for NFFF is https://www.firehero.org/
Southern Stone County firefighters participated in the 7th annual Springfield Area Memorial Stairclimb on Saturday, September 7. These 14 Stone County firefighters joined over 300 other people, representing five states, in remembering the 343 firefighters who lost their lives during the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks.
According to Julie Mercer, Marketing and Sponsor Director with the Springfield Area Memorial Stairclimb organization, this is the first year of the area stair climb has exceeded 343 participants. “This year, we exceeded the 343 for the first time. The 343 represents the number of firefighters who lost their lives on 9-11,” she said. The organization typically uses the number 343+. “The plus is for law enforcement, EMTs and others who also lost their lives, in addition to those who have lost their lives from 9-11 related illnesses in the years since the tragedy,” said Mercer.
Participants included firefighters from across the region, other first responder groups, such as EMS and police departments, as well as the military. Participants raised money for the National Fallen Firefighters (NFFF) Foundation. The foundation provides assistance to the families of the firefighters lost in 9/11 and their coworkers. The Stone County team, led by Lt. Dylan Honea, raised over $3,700 this year, with all of those funds going directly to NFFF. “Southern Stone County is one of our top fundraisers every year,” said Mercer.
A local team honors their fire family
“One thing I always tell my team,” Honea said, “is how big an honor doing this is. Knowing that even 18 years later, we can do something that directly helps, that gives a really good feeling.”
“This was my fifth stair climb,” said Honea. “Each member climbs the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs, representing the number of floors in the Twin Towers,” he said.
“We go as a team and raise donations for the NFFF. Those donations are strictly to help the families of fallen firefighters. Some of that also goes to support those who were impacted by the 9-11 attacks,” he said.
There a large need for this sort of funding in the fire service, Honea explained. “Ultimately, there’s not a lot of funding for the fire service, especially for the fallen. I want to help support those families. When they lose someone, they aren’t just losing a loved one, they are losing a full income and still have to get by. We are honoring all of them by helping out with this organization.
“Even though I was a lot younger when the attacks happened, those who fell are my brothers and sisters. The fire service is a big family. I can’t not do it,” Honea said. “Missouri also has fire funeral assist teams that help families. We can go out and honor our fallen family and help their loved ones get everything sorted out. I’m glad to be part of that as well,” he said.
Every year, there are numerous stair climbs across the country to remember the fallen firefighters and others who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “This [Springfield event] is the closest to us,” said Honea. “There’s a lot of pride in taking part in one of these. I will be taking some of my team to Jefferson City on October 19 for a stair climb there put on by the Division of Fire Safety,” he said.
Chaplain climbs as ministry of presence
Southern Stone County Fire District’s Chaplain Jim Cummings, also participated in the event for the last five years. He serves as the chaplain for the stair climb, as well.
“I’m the chaplain now, but I understand what firefighters go through because I’ve been there. I’ve been a paramedic for 29 years,” he said.
Cummings carries the names of several of the fallen each year, including Chaplain Mychal Judge. “I got involved partially because I knew heard the story of Chaplain Mychal Judge, the first recorded fatality from 9/11,” he said. “Judge was going into the north tower and the called over and said, ‘Father Mike, please pray for us.’ When the north tower was ordered evacuated, he stayed inside, said ‘no, I’ve still got people inside so I still have work to do.’ He was struck by debris when the south tower fell and became the first verified fatality that day.
“I thought, ‘wow, what a ministry of presence,’ and that’s what being a chaplain is all about, a ministry of presence,” Cummings said. “I carry Judge’s tag very year to honor him. He was very beloved.”
Cummings participates in these events for a number of reasons. One of them, he said, is to further show those participants that he can understand and is there for them. “That’s the impact of it. I know the impact of the culture, even though I’m a chaplain now, I’m still full time EMS. So I have the advantage of understanding an aspect of the culture. I want to be a part of it so when people do have problems, they can call me because they know I understand,” he said. “I’m also 20 to 30 years older than a lot of the people doing the climbs, so it pushes me to stay in shape.”
“Last year, I wrote about the ripple effect from 9/11. Since that day in 2001, over 300 more firefighters have died of related illnesses, including cancer and suicide,” said Cummings, “That’s a huge reason why this is so important to help out with.”
How to help out
“There are lots of ways to donate and help out,” said Honea. “We always accept donations to help with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. If anyone wants to donate, they can contact meat 417 272 1510, which is the station’s number. If I’m not there, they can leave a message for me or go online to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to donate that way. This year we raised over $3,700 and that all goes directly to the foundation. We don’t keep any of that,” he said. The website for NFFF is https://www.firehero.org/