Firefighters prep for stair climb
(File photo) Allo Pucci, Selkirk Fire, Rescue and EMS, hit the treadmill with his oxygen on during the firefighters donation drive at Safeway last year in preparation for the 2016 Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle.
(Courtesy photo) Four local firefighters are preparing, once again, to climb the 69 floors of Seattle's Columbia Center. The Scott Firefighter Stairclimb is a major fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
(Courtesy photo) Allo Pucci, center, from Selkirk Fire, Rescues and EMS, prepares for to tackle the towering Columbia Center's 69 flights of stairs during the 2016 Scott Firefighter Stairclimb. He and three other local firefighters will again head to Seattle on March 12 to participate in the event, raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help find a cure for blood cancer.
SANDPOINT — It is 69 floors and 1,356 steps to the Columbia Center's observation deck overlooking the city of Seattle — that is a lot of stairs even for someone not wearing 65-70 pounds of gear.
Four local firefighters will once again test their endurance in the annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb on March 12, raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in an effort to find a cure for those battling blood cancer.
Britian Whitley with Selkirk Fire, Rescue and EMS is this year's team captain and has participated in the event for the past seven years. Sandpoint firefighters have made the climb for nine years. This year's participants include Whitley, Tennielle Toussaint, Allo Pucci and Gwen LeTutour.
While the gear weighs a lot and the tower is steep and challenging, Whitley said it becomes even more challenging because they also breathe through their oxygen bottles, just as they would in an emergency situation.
"That, in and of itself, is probably one of the hardest challenges because you are in this confined mask and you are not breathing the air that's in the tower ... We are actually breathing Sandpoint air when climb in Seattle," Whitley said. "It adds a totally different dynamic."
Being in good physical shape is part of being a firefighter, Whitley said, so in preparation for the climb, the team members continue to work out during their daily routines. Also, they each have their own methods of preparing in addition to their daily exercise, he said. One of the volunteers is a marathon runner, for example, and Whitley enjoys backcountry skiing and recently returned from a trip to the mountains.
"It's the best thing I have found to kind of mimic it, because we don't have a lot of tall buildings in Sandpoint to practice on," he said.
While it is a competition and a personal challenge for the firefighters, it is also one of the biggest fundraisers for LLS, Whitley said. To participate in the stairclimb, firefighters have to raise a minimum of $300 prior to the event.
"Obviously, we try to raise as much as we can," Whitley said.
The local team has, in the past, held a donation drive at Safeway each year, but Whitley said this year they decided to mix it up and raffled off a pair of skis last weekend at the K-9 Keg Pull. Thanks to Eichardt's Pub and Grill for displaying the skis, Sand Creek Custom Wear for donating door prizes, and Volkl skis for the "screaming deal" on the skis, Whitley said the team raised about $3,000.
"It's probably one of our best fundraising years yet," Whitley said.
About 1,900 firefighters from more than 330 departments and five different countries raised $2.3 million during last year's climb. Whitley said this year around 2,200 firefighters have signed up and LLS has a fundraising goal of $2.5 million for the 26th annual stairclimb.