Renee Sevenski
Contributing Writer

(Photo by Grandma With A Camera)

We all remember exactly where we were and what we were doing at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked, in addition to the heroic story of United Airlines Flight 93. The attacks killed 2,977 innocent people that day including 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 police officers and 37 port authority police officers.

Stephen Siller, a fireman that had just completed his shift the morning of 9/11 and was off duty when the first tower was hit. He was on his way to the golf course to meet his brothers for a round of golf, something they rarely had the chance to all do together. He heard the call over the radio and turned his vehicle around to head back to his fire station. By the time he arrived back at the station his crew had already left on the call to the Twin Towers. He grabbed his gear from the firehouse and began driving towards the towers. Before Stephen was able to reach the towers, he was caught in a traffic jam caused by the chaos of the morning. Witnesses reported seeing a fireman get out of his truck caught in traffic and proceed to put on all his gear, and then began jogging through the traffic jam. Additional witnesses verified the story as they reported him running through the tunnels leading into Manhattan Island as he attempted to get to the towers to support his station. The tunnel he ran through was almost two miles by itself, and in total Stephen ran almost miles miles in his full gear so that he could help others. Unfortunately, Stephen never made it out of the towers that morning and he is remembered through this incredible organization. “Tunnel to Towers” was created by his brothers to honor his memory. They host an annual run through New York City each year, jogging the exact route Stephen took that fateful morning. With the money they raise each year they help families impacted by the events of 9/11, in addition to military veterans in need.

Danny Brininstool, a Bellevue teacher started the Bellevue 9/11 Memorial Challenge in 2023. He would have his students participate in climbing the bleachers a few times and check their heart rate. Then they would discuss how firefighters in full gear and helping people down flights of stairs would have felt. The students asked last year, “Why don’t we do this for real and climb the level of stairs they would’ve climbed?” Quite an extraordinary question coming from students that 23 years ago did not exist. With the help of the Bellevue Fire Department Danny put the challenge in action. His challenge now is to make The Bellevue 9/11 Memorial Challenge not only community wide, but his hope is that other schools would adopt the memorial in a way to honor and remember all those firefighters, police officers, and emergency service personnel that sacrificed it all on that fateful morning.

The Challenge starts with a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. in honor of all fallen heroes from 23 years ago. The students are given the choice of three activities: Climb up and down the entire length of the bleachers-24 laps in total nearly 2,200 steps the equivalent of the 110 stories of the Twin Towers. Option two is to walk four miles on the track. This option is to remember Stephen Siller that ran through the closed NYC tunnels to get to the Towers. The remaining option was to watch a 9/11 remembrance movie and discuss the impact of that day. Each student chose a badge with the name of a fallen first responder to carry that badge to the finish line.

Brininstool will continue this Challenge every year with hopes of growing the donations that go to the Tunnel to Towers Organization and that other schools start their challenge and keep the ongoing reminder to recognize all first responders. “The Kids exceeded our expectations with their participation and the sense of honor that they approached this with, and we couldn’t be more proud of how well they represented the community of Bellevue. It was one of my proudest moments I’ve ever been a part of during my time in education,” shared Brininstool.

Quoted from J. Steele, a Bellevue Firefighter that participated in the 2024 Challenge, “It is Incredible to see the kids push through and give it all they have.”
“it is inspiring to see the impact on the students and how well behaved and respectful each student was,”said M Flood,  Bellevue Firefighter.