Every Pasco County Fire Rescue ladder truck carries a small, deliberate memorial to the 343 New York City firefighters killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

The marking reads "Keep Back 343 Feet." The number is intentional.

The Wesley Chapel-based department shared three photographs of the marking in a post on X on Sept. 11, the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The department said the tribute is easy to miss on a passing truck but represents every member of the Fire Department of New York who died when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.

Memorial Now Honors Firefighters Lost to Illness

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has since recognized more than 300 additional firefighters on its memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for deaths tied to post-9/11 illnesses.

Nationwide Campaign Asks Americans to Climb

For the 25th anniversary, the foundation launched a nationwide #ForThe343 campaign inviting Americans to climb the equivalent of one flight of stairs and share the effort on social media. Victor Stagnaro, CEO of the foundation, said in an Aug. 11 press release that he responded to New York immediately after the attacks as part of a foundation team. "Now we are asking the nation to stand with New York again and symbolically complete the climb these 343 heroes could not finish," Stagnaro said.

Pasco County Holds Its Own Ceremonies

Several Pasco County remembrance events were also scheduled for Sept. 11, according to WFLA. BNI Main Street and Seniors in Service hosted a ceremony from 8 to 9 a.m. at Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City. HCA Florida Trinity Hospital held a moment of silence and stair climb beginning at 8:30 a.m. at 9330 SR 54 in Trinity. The Travis Manion Foundation 9/11 Heroes Run was set for Sept. 13 at 8 a.m. at Mirada Lagoon.

Origins of the Truck Tradition Unclear

Pasco County Fire Rescue has not said when the 343 marking first appeared on its trucks or how the tradition started.