Buckeye Career Center Honors 9/11 With 110‑Story Memorial Stair Climb
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (Sept. 11, 2026) – Buckeye Career Center marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11 today with a tribute that put students, instructors and local police officers through a firefighter‑level challenge. Fire and EMS instructor Nic McCoy says they climbed 36 trips up and down the school’s burn building — the equivalent of 110 stories — to honor the first responders who never made it out of the Twin Towers.
McCoy says the walk is meant to remember not only the firefighters and police who died that day, but also those who later lost their lives to cancer, mental illness and suicide after working in the rubble.
He says about two dozen fire students took part, along with officers from New Philadelphia and Dover. The tradition began last year, driven by students who wanted a meaningful way to honor 9/11, and it has quickly become part of the program’s identity.
Buckeye Career Center senior Adam Motz of Carrollton began the climb in roughly 25 pounds of firefighter gear, powering through a couple dozen flights before finally shedding some of the weight. He called the feeling afterward “amazing.” Motz, who hopes to serve as a Carrollton firefighter, said taking part in the 9/11 tribute felt like a duty — a way to honor the responders he hopes to follow into the profession.
McCoy says the burn building — normally used for live‑fire training — added to the challenge, with temperatures climbing into the 90s and low 100s inside the steel structure. But he says the students pushed through safely, showing pride in the profession they’re preparing to enter.
He says the annual climb helps them understand the sacrifice made on 9/11 and keeps that history alive for a generation that wasn’t yet born when the attacks happened.