Results are In! On Sunday, March 7, 2010, close to 1,300 firefighters from departments across the Pacific Northwest and beyond competed in the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb by racing to the top of the Columbia Center in full combat gear and Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). This unique event is the largest individual firefighter competition in the world.  Even New Zealand sent a team of 14 firefighters to compete!

The 19th Annual 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.

A group Portland Firefighters traveled to Seattle, Washington to climb the 69 flights of stairs and 1,311 steps to the observation deck in the Columbia Center building. These Portland Firefighters alone raised over $18,000 in donations for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), $2,000 more than last year.

Photos courtesy of Portland Firefighter Tommy Schroeder

Results for Portland Firefighters are as follows:

Firefighter Brian D. from Station 22 

• Placed 60th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 14:59.5
• In his age division, he placed 14th out of 256 firefighters
• Placed 59th out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Travis S. from Station 19 

• Placed 115th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 15:52.5
• In his age division, he placed 31st out of 235 firefighters
• Placed 114th out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Marc H. from Station 29 

• Placed 147th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 16:27.1
• In his age division, he placed 22nd out of 153 firefighters
• Placed 146th out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Liz T. from Station 28 

• Placed 231st out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 17:18.8
• In her age division, she placed 1st out of 10 firefighters
• Placed 4th out of a total of 117 female firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Eli A. from Station 19 

• Placed 369th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 18:40.6
• In his age division, he placed 88th out of 235 firefighters
• Placed 362nd out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Gary F. from Station 12 

• Placed 377th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 18:44.8
• In his age division, he placed 97th out of 256 firefighters
• Placed 370th out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Christine P. from Station 5

• Placed 466th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 19:27.4
• In her age division, she placed 6th out of 21 firefighters
• Placed 12th out of a total of 117 female firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Brent C. from Station 28 

• Placed 698th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 22:01.4
• In his age division, he placed 174th out of 256 firefighters
• Placed 673rd out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Patrick M. from Station 14 

• Placed 968th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 26:05.5
• In his age division, he placed 44th out of 71 firefighters
• Placed 911th out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Stew W. from the Public Education Office

• Placed 972nd out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 26:09.6
• In his age division, he placed 18th out of 30 firefighters
• Placed 915th out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Brandon B. from Station 30

• Placed 1,104th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 30:14.9
• In his age division, he placed 233rd out of 256 firefighters
• Placed 1,021st out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

Firefighter Nicholas K. from Station 1

• Placed 1,248th out of 1,295 total firefighters with a time of 43:42.0
• In his age division, he placed 29th out of 30 firefighters
• Placed 1,140th out of a total of 1,178 male firefighter competitors 

The donation event continues on Saturday March 13, 2010 with the "2010 Light My Fire" Auction to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb! Follow the link for more information on attending or getting involved - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp?item_id=552556.

Get more stairclimbing race results by clicking here.  Fundraising efforts will continue until the end of March 2010.  If you are interested in donating to Portland Fire & Rescue's Team or any other team or individual, click here to access the official stairclimb website.

March 12, 2010

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 12, 2010