Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010

5K to honor firefighter's 9/11 run

On Sept. 11, David Collins will run 3.1 miles through the streets of Wake Forest wearing full firefighter gear.

Collins, a lieutenant in the Wake Forest Fire Department, will join other local firefighters in the gesture, which honors the actions of a duty-minded New York firefighter who died on 9/11.

The second local Tunnels to Towers 5K race is organized by the seventh-grade students at Franklin Academy and honors Stephen Siller, an FDNY firefighter who died in the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Siller, a married father of five, was off-duty when the planes struck the Twin Towers. Instead of heading to play golf with his brothers, he turned his truck around to go back to help. When he discovered that the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was closed to traffic, he ran from the Brooklyn Tunnel to the World Trade Center wearing 75 pounds of firefighting gear.

His journey inspired an annual Tunnel to Towers run in New York, which Lisa Bender, a seventh-grade language arts teacher at Franklin Academy, heard about on National Public Radio last year.

As she listened, she thought, "This is exactly what I am trying to teach my students."

"I want to show them that it is the effort and the commitment to a responsibility or a code of honor that makes someone a hero," said Bender, 47, of Norlina.

When she began looking into starting a Tunnel to Towers run in Wake Forest, she received a personal e-mail from George Siller, Stephen's brother, providing her encouragement to start a race. George Siller attended the first Wake Forest Tunnel to Towers run last year and also will attend this year.

Wake Forest is the only town outside NYC to host a Tunnel to Towers race.

Collins, 30, who ran in the event last year with a dozen other local firefighters, said running in full gear is very difficult and that every step was brutal.

Because the firefighters try to simulate Siller's experience as closely as possible, they wear their helmet, boots and tools, in addition to the full suits.

"No matter how hard it was during the race, we kept thinking of him," Collins said. "When the race was over we got out of our gear. But on 9/11, Stephen Siller then went to work at the World Trade Center."

In addition to local firefighters, Collin has recruited firefighters to participate in this year's race from around North Carolina, including Greenville, Ashville and Gastonia.

The community also is invited to run or walk in the race. Anyone interested can register for the 5K online at tunneltotowerswf.org. The registration fee is $20 for competitive runners and $15 for other participants. Registration also is available at 6 a.m. the day of the event, and the race starts at 8 a.m.

The race will start and end at the Wake Forest Plaza at the corner of Elm and Brooks streets in downtown.

Proceeds from the run will be donated to the Stephen Siller "Let Us Do Good" Children's Foundation, the UNC Jaycee Burn Center and Luggage with Love.

"What sets this event part from other events is that it's completely student driven. Students made the posters, got the pledges and talked to the businesses to get sponsors," said Matthew Pertz, an eighth-grader and student organizer of the event.

Pertz worked with Tony Mastromarino, also an eighth-grader and self-described "tech guy" of the committee, to create the website. On the day of the event, students also will register participants and serve refreshments.

"I've enjoyed learning about what Stephen Siller did and how we can all make a difference," said Sydney George, a seventh-grader who is a member of the Tunnels to Towers organizing committee.

In addition to the Tunnel to Towers race, fourth- through eighth-grade students at Franklin Academy will celebrate Hero's Day on Sept. 10 to honor heroes, such as police officers, firefighters and military personnel.

During the day, students will hear personal stories from people in NYC on 9/11, release biodegradable balloons in a gesture of gratitude for heroes, and experience a firefighter training course set up by Stony Hill Rural Fire Department.

Student also will take a 1.7 mile walk to honor Stephen Siller's walk on 9/11 and have the option of carrying their backpacks to represent Siller's firefighting gear.

"I think that who kids choose as their heroes very often determines who they grow up to be," Bender said. "As teachers and adults, helping them make conscious choices about their heroes is one of the most important things we can teach."