Firefighters hold cancer fundraiser

Wearing their full gear, firefighters scale the Columbia Center in Seattle during a previous competition. A team from the Mountain Home Fire Department will join teams from across the United States as well as six foreign countries during this year's stair climb event in March. (Sarah Alston Photography)

The Mountain Home Fire Department will hold an event this Saturday, in conjunction with Walmart, to help raise funds in the battle against leukemia and lymphoma.

The money being raised will be included in the total that eight members of the department will take with them to the 23rd Annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb at Seattle's Columbia Center.

Currently, the team sits tenth in total donations raised by firefighter teams from across the country that will take part in the rigorous event, but hopes to climb to second, behind only the Boise Fire Department, after the fundraising events at Walmart this Saturday.

The stairclimb event, which will be held March 9, features firemen climbing to the 69th floor of the Columbia Center, a total of 1,311 steps up the stairwells of the facility. The firemen make the climb in full turnout gear, with their breathing masks and bottled air tanks on. Half way up, they stop long enough to swap out their air bottles. The gear they will carry to the top weighs about 50 lbs.

More than 1,800 firefighters from 27 states and six different countries, representing 300 different departments, are expected to take part in the stairclimb.

Like a marathon, finishing is almost as important as getting through the course faster than anyone else. At the conclusion of the course up the center's stairs, medical teams check blood pressure and heart rate of every participant.

The Mountain Home firemen had competed in the late 2000s in the event, but then dropped out of the climb. This year, Fire Chief Alan Bermensolo said, several members of the department came to him wanting to try again. They've been training on their own, many using Edi Corbus at Fitness First as their trainer.

Almost all of their expenses for the trip will be paid by the firemen themselves, although about $3,000 from the department's training budget will be used to help the firemen get to the competitions. "They're going to be in the best shape of their lives," Bermensolo said, "so we're looking at this as a training event."

All money raised during any fundraisers, however, will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which sponsors the stairclimb in Seattle.

This Saturday, the firemen and volunteers from Walmart will be on hand in a tent set up near the "grocery store" entrance to raise money for the society. A variety of events will be held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., including a raffle for a quilt and a free barbecue with hot dogs and a drink. The firement also will be "passing the boot" seeking donations. Walmart has agree to help raise $5,000 for the firemen, in part as a program for 50 employees who have volunteered 250 hours on various projects in the community.

Some of the firemen Saturday will be "practicing" on stairmaster machines. Walmart will have volunteers joining them and any member of the public can join them on the workout machines.

The tents where the activities take place will be heated.

In addition, Sparky the Fire Dog will be on hand to have his picture taken with children. People will get a ticket that can be redeemed on Sunday for a free picture.

Members of the Mountain Home team that will be competing in the stairclimbe are: Chris Corbus, Chuck Garvey, Chuck VanMeer, Justin Baldwin, Ron Bergh, Danny Downen, Eugene Rogers and Hank Patrick.