Firefighters climb for the fallen

Y-12 firefighters (from left) Tom Bratcher, Ben Norton, April Allen and Fire Chief Scott Vowell (kneeling) participate in the 2016 National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Stair Climb at the Knoxville Sunsphere.

Y-12 firefighters joined others from across the state to honor the men and women who died doing their jobs on 9/11 at the 2016 National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial (NFFF) Stair Climb at the Knoxville Sunsphere.

Each participant – wearing and carrying up to 70 pounds of gear – climbed 836 steps up and down the Sunsphere to honor their comrades who lost their lives on 9/11.

“In this career that is so firmly and fundamentally founded in brotherhood,” said Y-12 Firefighter Ben Norton, “it is truly an honor to have been part of carrying the name and memory of our fallen brothers.”

Representing Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) and Y-12 along with Norton were Fire Chief Scott Vowell and fellow firefighters Tom Bratcher and April Allen.

Vowell thanked CNS for its support of the Y-12 firefighters and the NFFF Memorial Stair Climb, describing the event as a “great opportunity” to support a “great cause.”

Proceeds from the event provide help to families whose loved ones have died in the line of duty.