By Laura French
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis fire captain plans to climb Mount Everest to help raise money for injured first responders and burn survivors.
Minneapolis Fire Department Capt. Scott Coffey, an avid mountain climber, aims to raise $10,000 for the charity Firefighter for Healing through his campaign, according to KARE 11. Firefighters for Healing was founded by Minneapolis Firefighter Jake LaFerriere after he suffered severe burns in a backdraft explosion in 2010.
“I was onsite the day of his accident on July 3, 2010,” Coffey wrote on the webpage for his campaign. “His courage and passion for both firefighting and this foundation have inspired me to rise to this challenge.”
Coffey has already been raising money for charity through his mission to climb all seven summits — the highest mountains on all seven continents — and previously climbed Aconcagua in South America and Mount Killimanjaro in Africa. His next stop is in Asia, where he plans to tackle the 29,000-foot Mount Everest in May.
When he gets to the top of the mountain, he plans to display the Firefighter for Healing flag, as he has done on previous expeditions.
Firefighters for Healing supports survivors by providing free temporary housing for families of burn survivors or injured first responders being treated at Twin Cities hospitals and by hosting a camp program for children who have survived burn trauma. The nonprofit is also working to build a transitional healing center for burn survivors and injured first responders to help them further recover and adapt after they are released from the hospital.