Twenty-five years later, 9/11 still feels like one of those days frozen in time.

For anyone old enough to remember September 11, 2001, chances are they can tell you exactly where they were when they first heard the news. I know I can.

The images, the uncertainty and the stories of people helping one another have stayed with me ever since. This year, I had the chance to mark the anniversary in a much more personal way by taking part in a 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Crunch Fitness in Brantford.

I actually showed up that day without any intention of doing the climb myself.

When I arrived, I was asked how I wanted to support the event and when I wanted to walk.

Apparently, that was all the encouragement I needed.

My wife, Tabitha, raced home to grab our shoes, came back, and before I really had much time to think about it, we were taking part.

It turned out to be a pretty good reminder that Tabitha is in much better shape than I am. By the end, I was completely exhausted while she barely seemed to break a sweat.

There was some humour in how unexpectedly the day unfolded, but the meaning behind the climb became much more powerful once we got started.

I participated alongside members of the Brantford Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 460 and partnered with PC Thomas Smith.

Thomas and I each completed 55 floors, for a combined 110 floors, in honour of those who lost their lives on September 11.

Climbing 55 floors is tiring.

But during the climb, it was hard not to think about the first responders who climbed stairwells inside the World Trade Center that morning.

They weren’t exercising.

They weren’t participating in a challenge.

They were moving toward people who needed help while thousands of others were trying to get out.

Firefighters, police officers, paramedics and other emergency personnel carried equipment up floor after floor, not knowing what they were going to face or whether they would ever make it back down.

That is what makes an event like this so meaningful.

For us, the climb eventually ended.

We could catch our breath, get some water, take off our shoes and go home to our families.

Many of the first responders who entered those buildings on September 11 never had that opportunity.

That thought puts the physical discomfort of the climb into perspective very quickly.

I also captured some of the experience on video and shared a few thoughts immediately after completing the climb.

Watch the video from the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.

The video gives a small glimpse into the event, but more importantly, it helps explain what those floors represented to everyone who participated.

September 11 is often remembered through numbers.

The number of people who died.

The number of first responders lost.

The number of families affected.

But behind every one of those numbers was a person.

A mother or father.

A son or daughter.

A husband, wife, friend, coworker or neighbour.

That is why remembrance continues to matter.

The events of September 11 also showed extraordinary courage.

At a time when people were understandably trying to get as far away from danger as possible, first responders were heading directly toward it.

That willingness to serve others, even in the most dangerous circumstances imaginable, deserves to be remembered.

A full generation has now grown up without a personal memory of September 11, 2001.

For many young people, it is something they have only read about, watched in documentaries or learned about in school.

That makes events such as the Memorial Stair Climb even more important.

They give us an opportunity not only to remember those who were lost, but also to pass their stories on.

Twenty-five years later, we continue to honour the victims, the families whose lives changed forever and the first responders who answered the call when they were needed most.

Taking part in the stair climb was a small gesture, but I was grateful for the opportunity to be part of it.

Some moments in history should never become just another date on the calendar.

September 11 is one of them.

Never forget.