Jacksonville firefighter Nicholas Billups will climb 110 flights of stairs Friday, Sept. 11, at the Williams Family YMCA on San Jose Boulevard, honoring the first responders who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Billups, a Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department firefighter, will begin the climb at 9 a.m. at the Mandarin gym, located at 10415 San Jose Blvd. The tribute falls on the 25th anniversary of the attacks. First Coast News first reported on Billups' climb Thursday, Sept. 10.

Friday marks Billups' sixth year performing the tribute. He told First Coast News he first took part before he had reached his first fire station, calling that initial attempt "nothing short of humbling."

The climb covers more than 2,000 steps on a stair-climbing machine. Billups said he wears firefighter gear weighing 30 to 40 pounds but leaves behind his bunker gear and air pack. He estimated the effort takes 30 to 40 minutes at a steady pace.

"Every year I would do it, I would ask the YMCA, 'Hey, can I come here and do it? Can I come here and do it?'" Billups told First Coast News. "Again, I'm volunteering to do it, but I don't take it for granted."

The YMCA holds personal meaning for Billups. He previously worked there as a martial arts teacher and personal trainer. He said the experience of climbing in gear gave him a deeper appreciation for the sacrifice first responders made that day.

Billups said a close friend who witnessed the towers fall in New York joined him for the climb after asking to participate. Watching her complete it alongside him, he said, gives him strength and motivation.

He said he is not chasing a record. The goal, he told First Coast News, is perspective. He described the 110-flight effort as a small glimpse of what first responders in New York experienced.

Billups' solo tribute at the Mandarin YMCA is separate from the second annual Jacksonville Firefighter 9/11 Stair Climb, scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at VyStar Ballpark, according to a Jacksonville Today roundup of area anniversary events. As we reported Sept. 10, several ceremonies across the Jacksonville area marked the anniversary.

When he reaches the top of his climb, Billups said he thinks about the families and firefighters who lost someone. His message to them: "We're praying for you. We love you. Lend us your strength."