ROANOKE, Va. – Rep. Ben Cline is taking time to recognize some of the everyday heroes in the Roanoke Valley.
On Monday, Cline stopped by Roanoke Fire-EMS’s station one to honor Capt. Peter Matthiessen. The fire captain is one of the head organizers of the annual Roanoke 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.
“You’re truly just an amazing credit to this community and it’s an honor to get to present this to you,” Cline said while presenting Matthiessen with the plaque.
The fire captain is very humble when talking about the recognition, giving a lot of credit to the team he has alongside him.
“There are as many as 15-20 people that help with this, not just me. I’m most grateful for that,” Matthiessen said.
Under his leadership, the climb has raised $68,000 in the past three years alone, supporting the families of fallen firefighters and honoring their legacy. Overall, the annual stair climb has raised more than $200,000 for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
“We remember on Sept. 11 those brave men and women who charged toward danger. The firefighters who ran into the towers to help people get out. The EMS workers, the police officers who saved so many countless lives and gave their own lives not just for the men and women that they got out of the towers but for this country,” Cline said.
Back in May, Capt. Matthiessen was recognized by the VFW as the ‘National Firefighter of the Year.’