Eight members of OIFR to participate in firefighter stairclimb

Supporting Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

— from Alex Conrad —

The 29th annual Firefighter Stairclimb is 08 March 2020; participants will climb 69 stories of the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle.

Eight members of Orcas Island Fire & Rescue are joining the climb this year. Firefighters perform the climb ‘on air’ in full protective bunker gear weighing over 20kg (44 lbs). The 69-story climb takes 1,356 steps to complete and represents a vertical height of 240m (780 ft). The eight members on this year’s OIFR team have been training to prepare for
the event since registration in September.

The climb is a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. An estimated 1,345,123 people in the United States are living with or in remission from leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma.

This event is the largest firefighter stairclimb in the world and draws participants not only from our region, but from fire departments around the world. The event raises over $3,000,000 each year for the fight against blood cancers.

This year, Team Orcas is climbing in honor of our friend, Jim Helminski. Jim moved to Orcas with his wife Teresa after a successful career in federal law enforcement that culminated in the role of Chief Human Capital Officer and Deputy Assistant Director for the US Secret Service. He currently serves the community as a member of the Fire Commission. Jim was diagnosed with leukemia last year; he’s currently responding well to stem-cell transplant therapy.

The event team page for Orcas is here. Please consider a donation to support the Orcas Fire team and join the fight against blood cancers.

Participants are representing the Orcas community as individuals; this event is not an official OIFR matter.