Crime & Safety
Renton Firefighters Climb Columbia Tower For A Good Cause
Fourteen Renton first-responders will climb 69 flights of stairs at the Columbia Center on Sunday to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Thirteen firefighters from Renton Fire and Emergency Services and one King County paramedic will join more than 1,500 first-responders from around the world to participate in the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb on Sunday at Columbia Center Tower in downtown Seattle.
The event, now in its 20th year, is a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. As of Friday afternoon, the Renton Fire Department had raised $11,761, according to the group's team page. After breaking the team's goal of $10,000 earlier this week, they decided to raise the bar to $15,000, said Team Captain Josh Brown, who'd like to raise $20,000 for next year's stairclimb event. Donations are accepted though the website for one week after the event.
"It's really moving," Brown said of the introductions to some of the kids who are helped by the event's proceeds.
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First responders from 27 U.S. states, Canada and New Zealand are signed up to participate in this weekend's event, according to a news release from the organizers. The climb includes 69 flights of stairs and 1,311 steps while dressed in full bunker gear. That's about 50 pounds of extra weight.
Brown is hoping the Renton team will finish in the top 10 this year, and is shooting for a personal time in the 13-minute range. Last year's top finisher was Kory Burgess of Missoula, Mont., who completed the climb in 11 minutes, 1.35 seconds.
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Β This year's team of 14 is the largest ever for Renton, Brown said. And he's hoping the interest continues to grow.
The event is two-fold.
"It's to support a great cause and to promote physical fitness in the fire department," he said.
In addition to Brown, Renton firefighters Dan Alexander, Chris Cline, Justin Cox, Mark dos Remedios, Donovan Eckhardt, Stan Engler, Chuck Hawley, Mike Hudson, Andrew Plumlee, Tom Sowards, Patrick Stalnaker, Jeffrey Vollandt, and King County paramedic Andy Johnson will participate in the Sunday Stairclimb.
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