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For Dexter Fire Department’s Erick Padilla, being a firefighter was a chance to give back to and honor the community, as well as join his brothers.

At 19, Padilla has followed brothers Alex Padilla, a firefighter for Rose Creek, and Christian, a fellow Dexter firefighter. Because he was 17 when Christian joined, Padilla had to wait, but it didn’t deter.

“I went to my first meeting and they accepted me right away,” Padilla said Thursday afternoon. “Ever since that first day it’s been amazing.”

However, on Wednesday — the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001 — Padilla gave back in another way. He honored the firefighters that climbed 110 flights of stairs of the Twin Towers in New York City. In total, 343 firefighters lost their lives the day of the attacks.

Having been a firefighter for just two years, Padilla first heard about firefighters doing a challenge like this last year when he noticed somebody doing it as part of a 5K in Austin.

“I thought that would be amazing to do,” Padilla said. “Helping the community, helping everything.”

On Wednesday, Padilla geared up, complete with 70 pounds of equipment and used a stair-climber at the YMCA at the Austin Community Recreation Center. 

While he was confident in his ability to complete the challenge, it soon became apparent that it was a difficult task and it made him reflect on the firefighters who responded in 2001.

“It was hard,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine doing it in person on 9/11. I couldn’t imagine the tragedy of 9/11.”

When Padilla was going to school, his class visited the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York and remembered being moved by the visit.

However, it also acted as a motivator that translated into his efforts on Wednesday.

“It just motivated me to do what I could do to motivate other firefighters to do this. To donate and help others,” Padilla said. “I could only imagine what was going through the firefighters’ minds in that time. After I got done I praised God that I did that.”

During his time on the step-climber, Padilla said that people that came up to him and thanked him for doing what he did and kids approached him, who said they wanted to be firefighters.

“That motivated me way more,” he said.

Going forward, Padilla said he will take every opportunity to repeat his effort and he hopes others will follow him in doing so while thanking the YMCA for allowing him the opportunity.

“One hundred percent, of course I will do this every year,” he said. “I want to do something like that every year. I want to get more firefighters to do this. I want everybody to do it. It’s truly amazing.”