Retired New York City firefighter Carl Graziano addressed a Blue Ash crowd at Summit Park on Friday, Sept. 11, recalling the day that killed 343 of his fellow firefighters.

"I wished that I could forget some of the things I saw that day. Some of the things I smelled that day and the sadness that fills my heart," Graziano said at the annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, Fox 19 reported.

The Blue Ash Fire Department and Firefighters Local 3203 hosted the ceremony at the base of the Summit Park observation tower, 4335 Glendale Milford Rd. A 9 a.m. memorial service opened the day under the theme "We will never forget."

Graziano, the keynote speaker, recalled the hope firefighters carried into the towers. He said not a single firefighter refused to report for duty on Sept. 11, 2001.

Across the Great Lawn, 2,997 American flags stood for each life lost that day. A section of recovered steel from the World Trade Center was on display, along with a tunnel tribute lined with the names of the 343 firefighters who died. A massive American flag hung from a Blue Ash ladder truck.

After his remarks, Graziano presented the Blue Ash Fire Department and the Blue Ash Police Department with a flag his firehouse had with them on Sept. 11, 2001. Blue Ash Police Chief Roger Pohlman accepted the flag on behalf of the department.

Pohlman said he was not expecting the presentation. He called the flag "pretty cool," noting it had been flown at Ground Zero, and said the department will display it at the police department.

Organizers said the event raised about $9,000 for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit that builds mortgage-free homes for families of fallen first responders and catastrophically injured veterans. The Blue Ash event has benefited the same foundation in past years, according to the Blue Ash Fire Department.

The stair climb was open to firefighters, police and military members, while the run and walk welcomed all residents.