KANSAS CITY, Mo. — 343 firefighters from eight states and 60 departments climbed 110 stairs at the Town Pavilion today in honor of the NY firefighters who lost their lives during 9/11.

Tomorrow marks 22 years since the tragedy struck America, and that is why these firefighters are paying tribute to the firefighters who lost their lives during the attacks.

This is the 12th annual stair climb the firefighters have participated in at the 38-story Town Pavilion.

“Never forget and always remember,” Malena Alderman with the South Haven Mississippi Fire Department said.

Sep. 11, 2001, is a day that still haunts many Americans 22 years later and hits very close to home for first responders.

“It’s always on my mind. I know where exactly I was. I know how we prepared once everything happened,” Melissa Roming with the Cromwell Connecticut Fire Department said.

343 New York firefighters died during the attacks on the World Trade Center, and now honoring the fallen heroes are 343 brave men and women.

“It’s one of the toughest things that you ever do because the gear doesn’t breathe, you got all the weight on, but the cool thing is, it’s mutual suffering. So, as you’re working your way up the stairs, you got everyone patting ‘em on the back, like keep going, keep going,” Dave Bova, the event director for the KC 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, said.

The firefighters made that grueling climb of 110 stories in full gear, that’s an extra 80-plus pounds, just like the New York firefighters that entered the World Trade Center.

“It helps prepare me training-wise and just thought process as I’m in the stairwell and going up, and when I get to touch the piece of steel beforehand, it just brings it to a higher level,” Roming said.

Those firefighters are completing the climb the 343 firefighters at the WTC never finished, always remembering and never forgetting.

If you’d like to donate to the Kansas City 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, you can click here.