Wearing 40 pounds of firefighting gear, 32-year-old Austin Littlejohn climbed 30 flights of stairs to the top of a downtown San Diego hotel — three times — with a clear purpose and an attitude of deep respect.
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The San Diego resident, a skills coach at the Miramar College Fire Academy, participated alongside hundreds of other men, women and children Saturday morning in the 14th annual San Diego 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
“When 9/11 happened, I was 7 years old,” Littlejohn said. “It was just a big, historic moment. And I’m all about giving back. I did six years in the Marine Corps, so anything that has to do with giving back to the community, I’m all about it. I wanted to do this event to help give back to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice.”
The event was held as the nation prepares to mark 25 years since terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing 2,977 and injuring thousands more.
The morning started with an opening ceremony structured like a first responder funeral service with a color guard unit and the San Diego Emerald Society Pipes and Drums group escorting the nation’s colors.
It culminated with 950 people completing a course designed to mimic the 110 flights of stairs at the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.
Photos: 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb
The participants, many of whom climbed as a part of large teams, donned badges with the name and picture of a first responder who died. They started at the bayfront lawn next to the hotel, ran to the bottom of the stairwell and went all the way up to the top of the hotel before taking the elevator down and repeating the climb two more times.
“It’s finishing the climb that the first responders didn’t,” said Sara Berns, who is the executive directive of FirefighterAid. The nonprofit organizes the stair climb each year to fund its ongoing work assisting firefighters and their families dealing with illnesses, injuries and line-of-duty deaths. FirefighterAid met its goal of raising $125,000 this year.
Read more Photos: 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb
“(We are) memorializing the first responders who lost their lives, but also recognizing first responders who are putting themselves out there every day. It’s in appreciation and honor of them; that every day they’re risking their lives going to work,” Berns said.
San Diego Fire Chief Robert Logan and Rep. Sara Jacobs led the first of six honor teams selected to carry an American flag and represent an event from the tragic day. The first honor team represented Flight 11, which crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The second honor team, the Miramar College Fire Academy team, co-led by Littlejohn, represented Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower. The academy team raised $16,216, the most of the any participating in the climb.
For 16-year-old Haven Garvey, the event marked a way to not only remember those who died, but celebrate the work of law enforcement officers like his dad, who also participated in the stair climb. Garvey, who aspires to be a firefighter, raced through the course at top speed.
“I just loved running with the firefighters and having them cheering me on. And (I loved) pushing hard through it,” he said.
Hilton Bayfront staffer Debby Stephens participated alongside other hotel employees as part of the Bayfront Climbers team. She used the occasion to teach her 7-year-old twin boys, Cayden and Colton, about the significance of 9/11.
“I have done it many years, and I just always feel like it’s an important event. I feel like it’s really important to remember everything that happened,” Stephens said. “(My boys) at an age now where they can start learning about this event and learning about 9/11. So I thought it would be good for us to do it together.”
The 2026 San Diego 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb was sponsored by the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, which donated use of the large lawn overlooking San Diego Bay. The event ran until 2 p.m. and featured a beer garden, a dozen vendors, live music and food trucks.
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