Polson firefighters head to stair climbing competition
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POLSON —Drive to Seattle, put on your firefighter turnouts and self-contained breathing apparatus, a combined weight of 45 pounds, and run up 69 flights of stairs at the Columbia Center. The building, formerly the Bank of America Towers, is one and one half times the height of the space needle and the tallest building in Seattle.
Polson Volunteer firefighters Pete Bishop, Bruce Gerlach, Ryan Nelson and Kevin Straub are going to do just that on March 11. The event is called the Scott Firefighter Stair Climb, and it’s for a good cause — raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Bishop said he and Straub had been thinking about entering the competition for some time and decided this was the year. Four other Polson firefighters tried to enter but were shut out since the competition closes after 1,500 participants sign up. Competitors enter online beginning in November and the slots filled quickly.
As part of the event, each firefighter needs to raise $150. To donate to the Polson firemen, go to www. firefighterstairclimb.org and click donate. Choose department and type in Polson Fire. Donations will be accepted until March 31.
The competition begins promptly at 9 a.m. as the first firefighter enters the stairwell to begin the 1,311 steps to the 70th floor. Other racers follow at 15-second intervals. Water stops are located on roughly every 10th floor, and the SCBA bottles are changed on the 40th floor.
On the 70th floor, volunteers greet firefighters to help them remove their turnouts.
Last year Kory Burgess of Missoula finished the race in 10:53.78 to win the stair climb for the third year in a row.
The press release reported most competitors finish in 20 to 30 minutes.
