By Robert Mittendorf
The Bellingham Herald
SEATTLE — Three firefighters from Whatcom County were among the top participants Sunday in the annual Firefighter Stairclimb in downtown Seattle.
It’s a timed race for firefighters in full gear — including air pack and mask — up 69 stories of the Columbia Center. The event is a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which aids blood cancer research and provides support to patients.
Some 2,000 firefighters from eight countries participated in the 26th annual event, which has raised more than $2 million this year. The winner was Andrew Drobeck of Missoula City (Montana) Fire Department, with a time of 10:58. It was his sixth consecutive win.
Tiffany Moyes, a volunteer firefighter for Whatcom County Fire District 7 serving the Ferndale area, finished in 39:33. Moyes, a 2015 Ferndale High graduate, recently completed a year of treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and has received a clean bill of health. She climbed the tower with a special “survivors’ battalion” of firefighters who have fought blood cancer.
“It was good,” Moyes said in an interview on the building’s observation deck Sunday. “I’m pretty sure it was harder than chemo, but ... .”
Moyes was among the event’s top individual fundraisers, with some $4,742 in donations through Monday.
Brent Molsberry of Bellingham, who works for Everett Fire Department, finished sixth at 12:12. Molsberry, a former volunteer with Whatcom County Fire District 6, has won the event four times — most recently in 2005 and 2006 — and has placed in the top 10 several times. Fire District 6, serving Chuckanut Drive, is now part of South Whatcom Fire Authority.
Peter Ellis of Bellingham, a volunteer firefighter with South Whatcom Fire Authority, finished seventh at 12:21. Ellis also is an alpine guide and a climbing ranger at Mount Rainier National Park.
South Whatcom Fire Authority raised $17,727 through Monday, and has been among the event’s top fundraising teams for several years.
Also participating in this year’s Firefighter Stairclimb were firefighters from Whatcom County Fire District 7, Bellingham Fire Department and North Whatcom Fire & Rescue.
The Bellingham Herald’s Robert Mittendorf is a volunteer firefighter with South Whatcom Fire Authority and participated in the Firefighter Stairclimb for the 14th year in a row. This year he finished with a time of 38:59.
Copyright 2017 The Bellingham Herald