Some Sweet Home firefighters participated in the annual Portland Firefighter Stairclimb at the U.S. Bancorp Tower on Sept. 15 to fundraise for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Sweet Home firefighters Kelso Ellis, Jared Huenergardt and Matt Kinkade, along with Woodburn firefighter Karis Chapin, joined together as a team to tackle the challenge and raise money for the nonprofit. Resident Cassie Richey also joined the group for support.
The tower is the second tallest building in Portland with 40 floors and 800 steps. By reaching the top, together the team climbed 3,200 steps and raised $1,145 ($445 beyond their goal of $700). They dedicated their climb to Ellie, a young girl with the disease whose mother was raised in Sweet Home.
Between the 38 teams representing a total 146 climbers that participated, organizers of the event said this day consisted of more participation than they’d seen in the last five years.
Firefighter participants wear 70 pounds of clothing and gear with full turnouts and oxygen tanks, explained PFS Development Director Lindsay Silva. Non-firefighter participants may opt to climb with a decommissioned air tank to mimic the weight the firefighters carry.
If that doesn’t sound fun enough for the climbers, there’s an added option.
“All participants have a bib with an embedded timing chip,” Silva said. “So it can be a race if people want, or it can just be a climb at a comfortable place.”
This year, the youngest climber was 12 years old and the oldest was 89. The fastest climber made it up the 40 flights in six minutes, 18 seconds. The fastest firefighter wearing full turnouts and on oxygen made it up in seven minutes, 17 seconds.
The Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District is scheduled to send eight of its firefighters, plus Richey, to attempt another stair climb on March 9 at the Columbia Center in Seattle. It is said to be the second tallest building west of the Mississippi and the tallest in Seattle with 69 floors consisting of 1,356 steps to reach 788 feet.
This event is a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Led by Jonathan Lemar, the team’s goal is to raise at least $1,800. Participating will be Kelso Ellis, Kason Forum, Jared Huenergardt, Matt Kinkade, Jon Lemar, Ryan Lindsey, Cassie Richey, Tyson Rust and Tucker Weld..
To donate to the cause, donate through your favorite participant, or visit https://events.lls.org/pages/wa/firefighterstairclimb25/JLemar.