Panama City Beach - This weekend, people across the nation are remembering the 2,985 people who lost their lives on September 11th 10 years ago including the 343 firefighters.

In Panama City Beach Saturday, about 200 people climbed 110 flights of stairs to duplicate the 110 stories of the World Trade Center towers that the emergency responders had to climb that day.

The climb began at 9:11 this Saturday morning at Laketown Wharf. The crowd cheered as firefighters climbed 110 flights of stairs. Many of them did it in full gear. No one knows exactly what the heroes of September 11th were thinking when they entered the flaming twin towers 10 years ago. Participants in Saturday’s stair climb can only imagine.

"If we would of had a ton of gear on it would have been extremely difficult to make it up those stairs," said Deputy David Higgins, BCSO.

"I mean I’m soaked in sweat in shorts and t-shirt I can only imagine what they did that day that was all that was going through my head,” said John Miller.

"For me its personal I did it for my friend lt. Andy Frederick’s who was a friend a colleague of mine and that’s why I did it for him," said Chief Rick Talbert, South Walton Fire District.

Ten firefighters from Hoover Alabama made the trip to Panama City Beach to participate in the memorial stair climb. For the past two months, the mayor of Hoover trained with the firefighters at a hotel in Alabama.He joined them in the climb Saturday in fire fighting gear.

"At sometimes I got really emotional thinking of all the firefighters that died that day," said Tony Petelos, Hoover Alabama Mayor.

Saturdays event raised $5,000 for 9/11 widows and children. The money will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. fire plans to host the event every year.