Valdez Firefighters Participate in Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle

Valdez, AK – Valdez Fire Department personnel recently participated in the 2017 Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle, Washington.

Lieutenant Sam Owen and Engineer Ryan Sims traveled to Seattle to participate in the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb on March 12^th, a fundraising event benefitting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The timed event, only open to firefighters, challenges participants to don full structural firefighter gear including air and climb 1,356 steps in Seattle’s Columbia Center Tower. The 69-story climb is equivalent to 788 feet of vertical elevation gain.

1,795 firefighters from around the world participated in the 2017 event. Owen completed the climb in 16 minutes and 37 seconds, placing 162^nd. Sims completed the climb in 17 minutes and 39 seconds, placing 268^th.

Owen and Sims, along with VFD Engineer Bryan Vincent, raised over $8,000 for the event. The VFD team currently ranks 12^th in the per capita fund raising category.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is one of the world’s largest voluntary health organizations dedicated to funding leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma research, education, and patient services. To learn more about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb, please visit: http://www.llswa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sfs_2015_about. Climb. Conquer. Cure.