Photos and story by Maddie Hunt
Firefighters from all over the country will make the grueling climb up the 76 flights of stairs in the Columbia Tower in Seattle on March 11. All donations received during this climb go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to fund research into cancer cures. The society focuses on curing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, which are common to firefighters.
The Society also provides resources for cancer patients and their families such as: financial assistance, support groups, podcasts, contacts for information specialists, etc.
The Scott Firefighter Stairclimb is an event established by the LLS to support firefighters and their families who are affected by any of the previously mentioned diseases, caused by firefighters’ constant exposure to hazardous materials.
“Once in the fire family, always in the fire family.”
Meeting at the stairwell in downtown Port Angeles to train for the 27th Annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb, members of the local fire departments came to climb together in the late afternoon of Monday, December 4, 2017.
They were joined by Port Angeles High School’s Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corpse, the U.S. Coast Guard from the Port Angeles base, and members of the North Olympic Firefighter Stairclimb Team. These groups came to help raise money for the firefighters who have signed up for the Stairclimb event.
Participants were asked by an event organizer, Rob Edwards, to climb 12 up-and-down flights of the downtown steps, tanking an estimated time of 24 minutes. The firefighters, in full gear and with CO2 packs, adding an extra 50 pounds, steadily kept up their pace as the crowd ascended and descended with them.
Below, family and strangers watched. Many donated to support the cause.
Rob Edwards explained that his youngest daughter had battled Leukemia. In the midst of the families struggle, Daniel Montana from the PAFD showed up out of nowhere, asking if he could climb for Edwards daughter. Since he was introduced to the cause, Edwards and Montana have worked together every year to raise money and ring in more support for the climb.
“What we go through here is nothing compared to what the families go through when they find out that their loved one has cancer,” Mr. Edwards said, “but we climb to let people know that they’re not alone.”
To learn more about the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb or to donate, go to http://www.llswa.org, or look for
@helppafirefightersbeatcancer on Facebook.