Firefighters claim 16th at climb
<p>Firefighters Allo Pucci, Trevor Edwards, Britain Whitley and Clint Frank stand before the skyscraper they raced up during the Seattle Stair Climb. (Courtesy photo)</p>
SANDPOINT — When it comes to scaling skyscrapers, local firefighters are at the top of the game.
Clint Frank, Allo Pucci, and Britain Whitley placed one of their best combined team scores yet in the grueling Seattle Stair Climb, ranking 16th out of 177 teams. Among Idaho teams, they ranked second with only the Boise Fire Department edging them out. For comparison, the Sandpoint team finished 13th out of 175 in 2012 and 19th out of 120 in 2011.
Individually, Whitley topped the list with a time of 14 minutes and 19 seconds, placing eighth out of 271 climbers in the 25-29 age category. Frank recorded a time of 15 minutes and two seconds, good enough for 11th place out of 223 climbers in the 35-39 age category. Pucci ranked 23rd in the same age category with a time of 16 minutes and six seconds.
Those are pretty impressive numbers, considering 1,475 firefighters arrived in Seattle on March 10 to tackle the Columbia Center, the second-tallest building west of the Mississippi. The athletic challenge requires firefighters to run up the skyscraper’s 69 flights of stairs constituting the building’s 788 feet of vertical elevation. Even worse, they have to complete the event wearing all 70 pounds of turnouts, oxygen tanks and other essential gear.
“The competition gets a little stiffer every year, so you have to keep getting better and better to stay up there in the ranks,” Frank said.
The professional firefighters were also joined by department volunteer Trevor Edwards, who decided to take on the grueling climb for himself. Sure enough, he stuck the climb out to the end, reaching the top floor with a time of 34 minutes and 45 seconds.
The Seattle Stair Climb is more than just a test of firefighters’ endurance. It also raises funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in an effort to put a kibosh on blood cancers. Locally, the Sandpoint team raised $1,460 in donations. Collectively, stair climb participants generated $1.2 million for the cause.
Beyond the stair climb itself, the trip was an excellent chance to meet firefighters from every corner of the nation. Every year, the three walk away with new acquaintances and memories.
“Words can’t describe the camaraderie of meeting different firefighters from all around the country,” Frank said.