Gulf Shores Fire Rescue will hold a special event commemorating the sacrifices made on September 11, 2001.

The 9/11 Memorial will be held on Sunday, September 7, in partnership with Brett/Robinson Real Estate, Phoenix Gulf Shores and The Hangout.

“We always said we would never forget, and a lot of people have forgotten, so we want to make sure that we and everybody else remember that and the significance of that day,” said Gulf Shores Fire Chief Mark Sealy.

The event will start at Gulf Place, on the on green, with a prayer service at 8 a.m.

After hearing from speakers, firefighters in full gear will caravan with members of the public to Phoenix Gulf Shores for a tower climb. Participants will make their way up the east stairwell and back down through the west stairwell, where memorials will be placed for the lives lost on 9/11. 

“So, the highest firefighters made it was 77 floors on September 11, and the goal is to memorialize them up the stairwell, so we’ll have pictures in each stairwell, in each landing,” Sealy explained. “So, some people want to race up the floor, but it’s whatever you want to do. It’s a memorial. Some people want to just go and stop with their families and just stop and read every one or look at each picture and remember, and it’s kind of a timeline as you go up the floors of how things unfolded that morning.”

While the firefighters will be wearing 80 pounds of gear, Sealy said the public is invited to participate in comfortable clothing.

Sealy said the event represents the brotherhood of the firefighter family.

“You know it’s a dangerous job, and we have each other’s back and we want to make sure that we remember that other people died and we don’t want it to be in vain or forgotten,” he added. “A lot of those men and women knew they were not going to come back down, but they went anyway.”

Having some firefighters who weren’t even born on September 11, 2001, Sealy said it is important for him to show just how important it is to recognize the sacrifices made that day.

“We talk about the brotherhood. We talk about tradition. We talk about honoring those that came before us,” he said. “We do that on a pretty regular basis.”

The event is free and anyone who donates $25 or more will receive an event T-shirt. Register at www.GSFRCLIMB.com.