Annual competition challenges nation’s finest
SEATTLE — Over twelve hundred firefighters amassed in Seattle to take part in the 16th annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Sunday. The event is the largest individual firefighting competition in the world with firefighters from across the globe competing.
This year, Graham Fire and Rescue’s Georgia Sanz Daniels climbed to her 10th consecutive women’s stairclimb title while Seattle Fire’s Zach Schade of Tumwater, Wash., was the top overall climber.
Firefighters from 200 fire departments in 14 U.S. states, Canada and New Zealand made the 69-floor climb in 50 to 70 lbs of “bunker gear” including breathing appar atus worn in the line of duty.
“I’m relieved that I got this one, and just happy to be done,” said Sanz Daniels, 39, of Graham, Wash., who scaled the 1,311 Columbia Center steps in 16 minutes, 15 seconds to reach the podium for the 10th time. Her time was 48 seconds behind her 2006 time of 15:27. “It’s the worst that it’s ever felt. I couldn’t get any air,” said the 5-foot, 5-inch, 135-pound firefighter who finished 89th overall, ahead of 1,164 climbers.
In men’s competition, Schade, 39, captured his first men’s title in six tries with an 11 minute, 30 second ascent to the 73rd floor of the Columbia Center. “I felt good about this one. I was able to double-step most of the way up,” said Schade who finished 19 seconds ahead of second place finisher, Paul Kimball, 23, of Spokane Valley Fire Department. Kimball clocked an 11:49 on the Columbia Center steps. Brandon French, 26, of Kalispell Fire Department in Montana was third in 12:05.
“It’s the most emotional win that I’ve had,” said Schade who exchanged high-five’s with the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb’s six-year-old featured patient Ben Nutt of Fox Island, Wash. just prior to the start of Sunday’s climb. Nutt, who is undergoing treatment for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, was on hand at the start to cheer on the competitors. “Seeing the excitement on Ben’s face puts things in perspective,” added Schade whose brother Rex beat Leukemia some 15 years ago. “The 10 to 15 minutes of pain that we are going through is nothing compared to what someone with Leukemia experiences.”
Other top finishers include Steven Callagher of Auckland, New Zealand who climbed to a seventh place finish in 12:52. Last year’s men’s winner Brent Molsberry of Chuckanut Fire near Bellingham, Wash. was 11th clocking a 13:08 on the Columbia Center steps. Stacy Waterworth, 41, of Tacoma Fire was the second female finisher clocking a 16:47. Elizabeth Thompson, 32, o f Portland Fire and Rescue in Oregon was third in women’s competition with an 18:04.
More than 747,000 Americans have leukemia, myeloma or lymphoma, the most common form of blood cancer. Among children under 20, leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer.
Visit www.lls.org/wa/firefighter for more information.