“On September 11, 343 FDNY firefighters climbed the World Trade Center towers to save others. For the 25th Anniversary, every American is invited to climb one flight of stairs to help symbolically finish their heroic climb and honor every firefighter who has made the ultimate sacrifice. Twenty-five years later, we will finish their climb together.”
For Immediate Release · August 11, 2026
NFFF Launches #ForThe343, Inviting Every American to Honor 9/11 Fallen Firefighters During 25th Anniversary
For the first time, anyone can join the tribute: climb near you from anywhere, share it, and challenge three others to do the same
EMMITSBURG, MD (August 11, 2026): Twenty-five years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) today launched #ForThe343, a nationwide movement inviting every American to honor the 343 firefighters who gave their lives that day, and every firefighter who has made the ultimate sacrifice since, through one shared act of remembrance.
For more than two decades, the NFFF’s 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs have brought firefighters and communities together to climb 110 stories, the height of the World Trade Center towers, in tribute to the 343 FDNY firefighters who died in the line of duty when the towers fell.
On this milestone anniversary, that tradition becomes a national campaign: more than 40 traditional 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs will take place in communities across the country, concentrated the weekend of September 11–13. Retro Fitness will host climbs at 75 locations nationwide in a single day. And for the first time, participation is open to every American, anyone, anywhere, at ForThe343.org.
The call to action is simple: climb the equivalent of one flight of stairs, post a short video or photo to social media, then challenge three others to do the same, carrying the tribute from person to person and community to community in all 50 states.
“I was one of the members of the NFFF team that responded to New York immediately following 9/11 and witnessed the nation come together to support the fire service” said Victor Stagnaro, CEO of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. “Now we are asking the nation to stand with New York again and symbolically complete the climb these 343 heroes could not finish. We’re inviting everyone to climb from a firehouse, their workplace or their home, because every step helps us keep the promise to never forget.”
The NFFF’s connection to that tragic day runs deep. At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency the NFFF mobilized on the ground in New York, opening a field office within five days of September 11. Over the two months that followed, the Foundation coordinated more than 400 peer-support specialists, chaplains, and mental health professionals who reached all 211 FDNY firehouses and thousands of workers at Ground Zero. The peer-support model the NFFF built for the FDNY in those months went on to shape how the fire service cares for its own after a loss.
The sacrifice of September 11 began in New York, but it did not stay there. In the weeks after the attacks, firefighters and rescuers traveled from far and wide to help with the search and recovery at Ground Zero. Many carried the toll of that work home with them, and 25 years on, firefighters are still dying from the illnesses it caused. The NFFF now recognizes more than 300 firefighters lost to post-9/11-related illnesses on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, their names enshrined alongside those lost on 9/11.
The losses are national because the response was national. And so is the tribute.
How to Join the Movement Today
Anyone can step up #ForThe343 from wherever they are. The digital experience at ForThe343.org, developed in partnership with SugarXR, includes the following ways to participate:
- Climb the equivalent of one flight of stairs, record a selfie video for social media, and challenge three others to keep the #ForThe343 movement growing. (For non-climbers, honor from anywhere by remembering, walking, running, biking, or capturing and sharing a tribute.)
- Find a climb near you and join one of the more than 115 official 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs taking place nationwide, including at Retro Fitness locations.
- Give back to the NFFF with a monthly gift of $9.11, or a one-time donation of your choosing, to directly support the programs benefiting Fire Hero Families and fire departments across the U.S.
Traditional in-person climbs will take place in major markets including Denver, Charlotte, Nashville, and Long Beach, California, and at landmark venues such as Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, and MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Organized climbs are also being held in communities far from any skyline, such as Estes Valley in the Colorado Rockies; Bismarck-Mandan, North Dakota; the Morongo Reservation in Southern California; and the Wiregrass region of Alabama.
The movement is amplified by national partners including Retro Fitness, which is mobilizing 75 locations nationwide in support of #ForThe343. All community members, regardless of membership status, are invited to work out for free and participate in their local climb using Retro Fitness’s state-of-the-art cardio equipment. Participants can also support the NFFF through point-of-sale donations at club locations, helping Retro Fitness reach its fundraising goal for the Foundation. Donations support the NFFF’s work to honor fallen firefighters, support their families, and reduce future line-of-duty deaths.
“Connection, purpose and community are central to what we do at Retro Fitness,” said Kim Gouch, Chief Brand Officer of Retro Fitness. “Through these climbs, we’re bringing people together to honor the courage, sacrifice and service of those we lost to 9/11. Our partnership with the NFFF provides an opportunity to live our values while challenging ourselves physically. And we’re proud to do it #ForThe343.”
The movement is also made possible through the generous support of 5.11, Inc., a global innovator of purpose-built apparel, footwear and gear, and the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), a non-profit advancing fire protections through advocacy, safety codes and legislation, and industry training. As #ForThe343 Tribute Partners, 5.11 and NFSA continue their longstanding commitment to the NFFF’s mission to honor fallen firefighters, support their families and strengthen the fire service community.
Every act of remembrance, a climb, a walk, a tribute shared, a gift given, is #ForThe343. Together, we can ensure the Fire Heroes who ran toward danger, and all who followed them during rescue and recovery, are never forgotten.
Find a climb, honor from anywhere, and join the movement at ForThe343.org.
Media interviews with NFFF leadership, stair climb organizers and Fire Hero Family members are available throughout the remembrance window. Photography and video from past NFFF 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs are available here.
Chris Colton · Media Contact
Ccolton@martingroupmarketing.com · 845-642-0762
What Happened That Morning
An estimated 100 million Americans were not yet born on September 11, 2001.
Flight 11 strikes the North Tower. The FDNY dispatches companies from 75 firehouses across all five boroughs.
Flight 175 strikes the South Tower. Firefighters in 60 pounds of gear climb up the stairwells as office workers stream down past them.
FDNY members reach the 78th floor of the South Tower, the highest point recorded, calling for lines and companies to fight the fire.
343 members of the FDNY are killed, every rank from probationary firefighters to the Chief of Department. The deadliest day for firefighters in history. 2,977 lives lost in all.
Many more firefighters have since died of World Trade Center related illness, tragically a number that continues to grow. This movement honors them all.
“Every flight climbed today symbolically helps finish their heroic climb.”
The Tradition
In 2005, five Colorado firefighters climbed 110 flights in a Denver stairwell in memory of their FDNY brothers. By 2008, every climber carried the name and photograph of one of the 343. Today, Official 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs are held in more than 40 states under the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. For the 25th anniversary, that tradition extends to every American: one flight, anywhere, recorded at forthe343.org.
Story Themes
100 million Americans weren’t yet born on 9/11. For the 343 transforms remembrance into participation, giving a generation that knows the story a meaningful way to honor the heroes.
The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb began with five Colorado firefighters in 2005. Twenty-five years later, that spirit has expanded into a nationwide opportunity for every American to honor the 343, wherever they are.
“[TOWN] joins the national For the 343 movement.” Local fire departments, businesses, schools, and families are finding their own ways to honor the 343. We can connect reporters with local participants.
Millions of Americans can honor together, from firehouses and office buildings to schools, stadiums, and hometown memorials. One nation. One shared act of gratitude.
Americans are challenging one another to honor the 343. Participants climb, share their tribute, and invite three others to continue the movement.
You don’t have to be in New York to honor September 11. Every hometown has firefighters who answer the call every day. For the 343 gives every community a meaningful way to say thank you.
For the 343 isn’t about breaking records or counting participants. It’s about creating millions of individual moments of gratitude that collectively ensure we never forget.
The Official Memorial Stair Climbs remain the gold standard. For the 25th anniversary, For the 343 expands participation so every American can honor, regardless of where they live.
Fact Sheet, FAQ & Contact
Press FAQ
Experience it yourself
forthe343.org · Climb. Record. Share. Challenge. #ForThe343
Press contact
Chris Colton · Media Contact · Ccolton@martingroupmarketing.com · 845-642-0762
Interviews, live demos, hi-res assets, and local participant connections available on request.
Addendum A: Sample Article · approximately 750 words · free for editorial use · modify as needed
Headline and alternate headline provided. Fill the [HIGHLIGHTED] fields to localize. Facts and figures should remain exactly as written.
Twenty-Five Years Later, America Finishes the Climb
Alternate headline: One Flight or More of Stairs. 343 Heroes. A Nation Climbing Together.
At 8:46 on the morning of September 11, 2001, the first alarm sounded. Within minutes, the New York City Fire Department had begun the largest response in its history, dispatching companies from 75 firehouses across all five boroughs to Lower Manhattan. With tens of thousands of civilians inside the World Trade Center, commanders ordered a full evacuation. And then the firefighters did the thing that still defines that morning: carrying sixty pounds of gear, they climbed up the stairwells as office workers streamed down past them.
Members of the FDNY reached the 78th floor of the South Tower, the highest point recorded that morning. When the towers fell, 343 members of the FDNY were killed: every rank, from probationary firefighters to the Chief of Department, and the Department’s chaplain. It remains the deadliest day for firefighters in history. In all, 2,977 innocent people were lost.
Many more firefighters have since died of World Trade Center related illness, tragically a number that continues to grow.
This September marks twenty-five years since that morning. And for the first time, every American is being invited to help finish the heroic climb that the 343 began.
For the 343, a nationwide movement created by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, asks one simple thing: climb one flight of stairs. One flight, anywhere, for any of the 343 who could not finish theirs. Record your climb at forthe343.org, where every flight is added to a national count and displayed on an interactive map showing America climbing together. Then share it and challenge three others to do the same.
“This is not about athletic achievement,” said [NAME, TITLE, NFFF OR LOCAL DEPARTMENT]. “It is about a nation taking one step together in honor of the people who took every step for us.”
The movement grows out of the fire service’s own tradition. In 2005, five Colorado firefighters moved their monthly training climb to September 11 and ascended 110 flights in full gear in a downtown Denver stairwell, in memory of their FDNY brothers. By 2008, every climber carried the name and photograph of one of the 343. Today, Official 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs are held in more than 40 states under the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, drawing thousands of participants and raising millions for the families of the fallen.
For the 343 extends that tradition to the rest of the country. Participants do not need to climb 110 stories. One flight counts. Several flights count. Those who cannot climb can walk, run, bike, share a memory of September 11, thank their local firefighters, or donate. Every sincere act of remembrance matters.
In [TOWN], [LOCAL DEPARTMENT OR ORGANIZATION] is bringing the movement to the community. “[ONE-SENTENCE LOCAL QUOTE],” said [NAME, TITLE].
The idea is spreading through fire departments, schools, businesses, faith communities, and sports teams. Gyms are dedicating classes to the 343. Schools are climbing their stairwells at lunch. Neighborhoods are gathering at apartment buildings and local landmarks. The national count at forthe343.org updates in real time, and participants can see their flights join the total alongside climbers from across all 50 states.
The challenge mechanic is deliberate. Each participant is encouraged to challenge three others, turning one flight into four, then twelve, then thousands. Shared through social media, text, email, or word of mouth with the hashtag #ForThe343, each tribute carries the invitation forward.
The campaign is also built for a generation that was not yet born on September 11. An estimated 100 million Americans have no personal memory of that morning. For the 343 gives them a way to honor the story not as observers, but as participants, turning a chapter they read about into an action they can take with their own two feet.
Every flight climbed and every dollar donated supports the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, established by Congress in 1992 to honor America’s fallen firefighters, support Fire Hero Families, and work to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries. The NFFF is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all donations are tax deductible.
Participation is free, requires no app or download, and collects no personal data. To find an Official 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, participate from anywhere, or donate, visit forthe343.org. The campaign hashtag is #ForThe343.
Twenty-five years later, every flight is a promise that America will never forget.
Editor’s note: Free for editorial use. Fill the highlighted fields to localize. Trims cleanly from the bottom to approximately 500 words (cut the final four paragraphs). Photo available on request or at forthe343.org.