Patti Dozier/Times-Enterprise (IMG 1561 jpg in tuesday)

Kim Smith (from left), Thomasville Fire/Rescue engineer Randy Wood, Fire/Rescue Chief Chris Bowman, Derek Knight visit memorial at downtown fire station.

THOMASVILLE — Americans will never forget when terrorists commandeered jet planes into the World Trade Towers 13 years ago, resulting in the deaths of close to 3,000 on U.S. soil.

Neither will the nation forget the 343 New York City firefighters, 63 police officers and eight emergency medical technicians who perished trying to rescue the thousands trapped in the two 110-story-tall infernos.

On Thursday, Sept. 11, Thomasville Fire/Rescue, Thomasville YMCA and the Thomasville Professional Firefighters union will sponsor an event in which participants will climb to honor fallen firefighters and to help establish a local memorial to firefighters and other public safety workers.

Memorial participants will climb bleachers at Thomas County Stadium in remembrance of New York public safety workers who died. Proceeds will go toward enhancement of a memorial at the downtown Fire/Rescue station at 100 S. Crawford St.

The distance to the top of a tower was 1,347 feet, with 19 steps between floors. Firefighters reached the 78th floor of a building before they died.

Some local firefighters will climb bleachers in the full turn-out gear worn by New York firefighters as they climbed flight after flight of stairs.

Chris Bowman, Thomasville Fire/Rescue chief, said those who want to may climb bleachers equal to the distance to the tops of the buildings.

“We will mark bleachers where the 78th floor is,” Bowman said.

The one-quarter of a mile to the top of the World Trade Center is one lap around the stadium, the chief said.

The 110 stories also can be done on stair-climber machines at the Everett-Milton YMCA, said Kim Smith, YMCA fitness and wellness director.

The $15 registration donation will go to the Thomasville Firefighter Memorial. Each climb participant will wear a badgeholder containing photographs of two firefighters or other public safely personnel who died in the New York buildings.

The first memorial climb begins at 5:30 a.m. at the stadium and ends at 10 a.m. The second climb of the day, also at the stadium, is from 6 to 8 p.m.

Posting of the colors by the Thomasville Police Department honor guard is at 8:30 a.m. Derek Knight, Thomasville Fire/Rescue driver/engineer, representing the Thomasville Professional Firefighters union, will recap Sept. 1, 2001, events.

Preregistration may be done at the Everett-Milton YMCA, Thomasville Main Street, Thomasville Fire/Rescue or at the event. T-shirts will go to the first 100 to register.

Bowman pointed out that dispatchers and the military also played integral roles on Sept. 11. The military, he said, strategically monitored U.S. aircraft in the air and on the ground after the attack.

Knight said many people walking by the downtown fire/rescue station stop and look at the memorial.

The first Thomasville firefighter to die in the line of duty was Chief R.L. Dawkins, on Dec. 31, 1917. Four other firefighters, passengers on the fire wagon, were seriously injured when the wagon collided with a Ford car driven by a Thomas County police officer at Crawford and Monroe streets.

Bowman and Knight said the goal is to expand the memorial project and sell personalized pavers to individuals and businesses and as memorials.

“We’re hoping this is something that will grow,” Smith said.

Soon after Sept. 11, 2001, NeSmith Nurseries donated a statue of a firefighter to Fire/Rescue. The statue is the centerpiece of the small memorial it is hoped will expand into nearby grassed areas.

New York firefighters vowed to never forget, Bowman said, and firefighters worldwide have joined the mantra.

The Thomasville commemorative event is not a race, but about remembering.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.