9-11 Memorial Ceremony

Under a near perfect blue sky one Tuesday morning in the later summer of 2001, battalions of firefighters donned bunker gear to answer a call to service. It would be the last for 343 of New York’s finest and bravest firefighters. They never returned from the 110-story World Trade Centers towers.

The West Palm Beach Fire Department joins with thousands of fire departments around the nation every September 11 to pause, reflect and remember their brave brothers, and sisters in arms who raced into the World Trade Centers to try and save the lives of so many.

As a tribute to the scores of firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers who gave their lives in service to mankind, the West Palm Fire Department annually hosts a 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb. Firefighters, law enforcement and members of the public climb 110 floors, just over five trips up the 21-story office at 515 North Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach, in a symbolic tribute to the fallen. Each step, each floor is a testament to a faller member. What started as a with a few off-duty West Palm Beach firefighters a few years ago, has grown to well over 200 from Fire Departments around the state assembling in West Palm Beach. 

In 2023, the tribute was held on Sunday, September 10.