Lancaster County's annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb will be held on Sunday, Sept. 17, at the Barnstormers' stadium, 650 N. Prince St., Lancaster. Registration will begin at 8 a.m., followed by the stair climb at 9 a.m. Participants will be required to pay a set cost to sign up, and registration will also be available online at http://www.lancasterstairclimb.org until Friday, Sept. 15.

Once the memorial service begins, participants will begin a procession up the steps of the stadium. They will circle the stadium five times, making the distance of the climb equivalent to the 110 stories of the World Trade Center. During the climb, each participant will carry an image or the badge of a first responder who was killed while responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Every year, many first responders travel to the Barnstormers' stadium to participate in the event. Firefighters often choose to don their full set of equipment for the climb, carrying the same type of heavy gear that their fallen comrades did as they rescued those trapped in the twin towers. In the past, the event has drawn first responders from across the entire county, as well as firefighters and emergency personnel from New York, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey. "We have guys from outside of the state who only see each other at the stair climb every year. It's a common bond for people," said Scott Yuill, a member of the East Petersburg Fire Company. "They swap stories and catch up. Firefighters already have a bond with each other, but the memorial makes that stronger."

Similar memorial events are held throughout the country in almost every state, and Lancaster's stair climb is one of the largest in the region. The proceeds from the Lancaster event will benefit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which distributes funds to the New York City Fire Department's counseling services. Many survivors, victims' families and those who helped with rescue efforts continue to receive counseling over two decades after the attacks.

Yuill helped to establish the annual stair climb in Lancaster 13 years ago as a way to honor fellow firefighter Ronald Pucca. Yuill and Pucca met at a training program in New York, and Pucca was one of the city's fire marshals who was killed by the collapse of the World Trade Center. Members of the community, especially first responders, immediately rallied in support of the memorial.

"The memorial gives people a unique way to show that they haven't forgotten, like everyone promised in the days after 9/11," Yuill said. "Even the younger generations participate, despite being babies when it happened. They know that it's about honor and sacrifice, and they honor that."