Climbing to curtail cancer
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<<Sounds of stair climbing>>
Narrator Says:
69 floors.
<<Sounds of stair climbing>>
Just over 2,300 steps.
<<Sounds of stair climbing>>
And in the end, almost 800 feet of elevation.
A stair climb at Seattle’s Columbia Tower is certainly not for the faint of heart.
But it was the big hearts of about 1,400, who showed up at the Columbia Tower to make the climb to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Most came from around the Northwest, but others came from as far away as Colorado, Kentucky, New York, and even as far away as Germany.
Among the thousands that attended, were eight representatives from King County International Airport.
King County Airport Rescue Firefighter Kurt Lange Says:
I think it's always been in the back of everybody's mind, for a couple years and this is the year we finally said 'Let's do it, let's train and do it.'
Narrator Says:
It was the first year the airport rescue fire fighters from Boeing Field joined the climb.
Their day jobs at the airport consist of maintaining the safety of one of the busiest general aviation airports in the nation.
With more than 300,000 planes taking off and landing every year at Boeing Field, the Firefighters stand on-guard in case of emergency.
You could say this year’s preparation held some uncertainty for the stair climb rookies at the airport.
For one thing, the climb is done with full firefighter gear.
That includes an air tank, a fire-resistant suit, a mask, and of course a helmet, all of which weighs an extra 60 pounds.
King County Airport Rescue Firefighter Travis DeFries Says:
Three days a week I would climb these stairs here at the tower. Two of those three days a week, I would actually just put the pack on, the SCBA pack, and I would do 40 revolutions up and down, which is 140 stories, which was twice the Columbia Tower.
And that was to build my endurance, burn more calories, and lose some weight also. And then the third day a week I did the tower, I would actually put all the gear on, and do 20 revolutions up and down which was equivalent to what the Columbia Tower would be, minus the coming down part.
King County Airport Rescue Firefighter Don Davis Says:
The training, the event itself was pretty grueling, you have to have a lot of endurance. So the training was the same. It was very intense, so you have to build up to it. Very few of us, of course I’m 49 now, but there's only a few of us that can do an event like this without training.
Narrator Says:
The weeks and weeks of training may have fit in nicely with the Firefighters, who have a physically demanding job to begin with.
But in the moments leading up to the climb, there was also something to be said for mental and emotional preparation for such a grueling physical task.
King County Airport Rescue Firefighter Don Davis Says:
I'm thinking pace, I’m thinking endurance. I'm thinking will power. I'm not trying to set any speed records, I just want to get it done and say that I did it.
King County Airport Rescue Firefighter Kurt Lange Says:
I'm hoping for half an hour or less, maybe if I can get somewhere in the mid-20's, I'd be pretty happy.
King County Airport Rescue Firefighter Travis DeFries Says:
You know, there were a lot of emotions going through our heads. At the start of it, a lot of adrenaline, and a lot of people started out way too fast and that hurt them in the end. In the middle of it, a lot of pain, a lot of misery, and dread.
A lot of lonliness because you didn't have the cheerleaders and the crowd all pumping you up. You're in the middle of the stairwell all by yourself. At the end, just a lot of joy, a lot of feelings of achievement. It was nice for us to come together as a team. Come up with a goal. Work hard to achieve that goal, and then to ultimately finish it. So it was a great sense of achievement.
Plus it was a great benefit that we were doing this for, for the leukemia and lymphoma society. And so just a lot of mixed emotions throughout the whole day, start to finish.
Narrator Says:
The team of eight averaged just over 33 minutes to make it 69 flights, with the winning unit time going to Kurt Lange, at 27 minutes, eight seconds.
The Airport Rescue Firefighters from KCIA raised a total of about $6,300 for the cause.
Their contribution was part of a record year, as the 225 different departments brought in $530,000 dollars for blood-cancer research and patient services.
