Fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks, one firefighter paid tribute in a beautifully symbolic way to those who died.
A front desk associate at a Planet Fitness gym in Maryville, Tennessee, shared a photo of Jason Harding, who has served with the fire department in the city of Fairview, on a stair climber machine while suited up in full gear.
Lezlie Bauler, the gym employee, explained in her Facebook post that Harding wanted to use the machine to climb 110 flights of stairs ― the same number of stories in the World Trade Center towers. The act was a profound tribute to those lost in the 2001 attacks.
“I am not one to get emotional, but a few tears were shed,” she wrote in her post of the gesture. “Thank you for your services.”
While the photo went viral with more than 150,000 shares on the social media site, Harding said he didn’t perform the act for attention.
“I did it because it felt right,” he told The Washington Post.
The firefighter, who arrived at the gym early in the morning, completed the task in about 45 minutes. Harding, who’s a public safety officer at the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, released a statement explaining that he’s participated in Nashville’s 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb for several years, however was unable to attend this year. That didn’t stop him from honoring those who died in the tragedy on his own.
Many people across the Internet have shared emotional reactions to the photo, and Harding said in the statement he’s been equally moved by the support ― and was even brought to tears.
“That was probably the most emotional thing I’ve been through in a really long time,” he said to the Washington Post.