Upper Arlington firefighters are asking neighbors to lace up and climb with them on Sept. 13, when IAFF Local 1521 hosts its second annual Central Ohio 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Marv Moorhead Memorial Stadium.

Participants will climb 2,200 stairs or walk 3.5 miles, replicating the 110-story ascent FDNY firefighters made inside the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Each climber is matched with one of the 343 firefighters who died that day, symbolically completing the journey that firefighter began 25 years ago.

Registration is open.

The event runs from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Upper Arlington High School stadium, 1625 Zollinger Road. Residents can sign up as individuals or teams through the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation event page. An early registration deadline of Friday, Aug. 14 has been posted on the event's social media pages, though specific fees were not listed in available materials.

The City of Upper Arlington announced the climb on its official X account Aug. 10, noting the event honors the heroes of 9/11 a quarter-century after the attacks. The Upper Arlington Fire Division and the NFFF are co-hosting the climb.

The NFFF, which sanctions stair climbs nationwide, said proceeds support programs for families of fallen firefighters, including mental health services, college scholarships and summer camps for children who lost a parent in the line of duty. The national program had raised more than $11 million as of 2022, according to FireRescue1.

Last year's climb on Sept. 14, 2025, was the first time the Upper Arlington Fire Division staged the event at Moorhead Stadium, making this year's edition the second.