RAISING FUNDS FOR THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY ONE STEP AT A TIME

On Saturday, March 7, 2010 Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) firefighters will travel to Seattle, Washington to compete with other firefighters from across the United States in the 19th Annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb. 

The Scott Firefighter Stairclimb supports the mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Portland Firefighters have been busy raising money through sponsorships, fundraising, and entry fees. In 2009, the event featured over 1,500 firefighters from 245 different fire agencies and brought in a record $640,000 for blood-cancer research and patient services.

SCOTT FIREFIGHTER STAIRCLIMB

The Scott Firefighter Stairclimb is a timed race up the stairs at the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, Washington in full fire gear and Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). At 788 feet of vertical elevation, the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, Washington stands as the second tallest building west of the Mississippi. It takes 69 flights of stairs and 1,311 steps to reach the observation deck overlooking the city.

There will be a bottle changing station on the 40th floor for firefighters to get a fresh bottle of air to finish the ascent. Time starts at the bottom of the tower with a 15 second interval between climbers, and stops when you reach the top floor.

Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters participating in the stairclimb include:

• Christine Pezzulo
• Eli Armstrong
• Liz Thompson
• Travis Solso
• Patrick McMahon
• Gary Fergus
• Stew White
• Matthew Radcliff
• Marc Ham
• Scott Berni
• Krista Godon
• Brian Dundon
• Nicholas Karaffa
• Brandon Bacon
• Chris Barney
• Stewart White
• Brent Cavanias

PREPARING FOR THE CLIMB

Portland Fire & Rescue provides a comprehensive health and wellness program for firefighters as well as workout rooms in each of the 30 stations across the City of Portland.  Daily workouts are encouraged in order to keep the firefighters in peak physical condition in order to perform their jobs proficiently.

Portland Firefighter Christine Pezzulo at Station 5 has readied herself for the climb by staying active and cross-training outside of work. Firefighter Christine notes that she enjoys the preparation and training, the friendly competition between firefighters, the personal challenge, raising money for a great cause, and most of all – being a 42-year old woman that can successfully hold her own and climb up 69 flights!  Christine has lost family members to various types of cancer and she finds it important and worthwhile to take an active part in raising donations that will in turn help find a cure.  While climbing, Christine stays motivated by remembering a quote from Lance Armstrong:

“Pain is temporary.  It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year,

but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. 

If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services. The mission of LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $550 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Click here to locate Portland Fire & Rescue's Team on the official stairclimb website. Next, select your favorite firefighter(s) or donate in general to the Portland Fire & Rescue team.

If you would prefer to use a non-electronic donation, please mail donations directly to:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Attn: Firefighter Stairclimb

NOTE THE TEAM/INDIVIDUAL YOU ARE DONATING TO HERE

530 Dexter Ave. N, Suite 300

Seattle WA 98109

March 5, 2010