By Matthew Sims
Pakenham CFA Brigade members raised a total of $7283 for the 11th annual Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb over the weekend.
Seven members put their bodies on the line, climbing 28 floors at Crown Metropol on Saturday 7 September with 25 kilograms of equipment weighing them down during the climb, simulating the actions of a firefighter entering a burning high rise building.
Some participants wore full structural firefighting protective clothing, while others also wore Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) during the climb.
Operated by newly formed charity 000 Foundation, the event aimed to raise $750,000 towards Lifeline, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation and the 000 Foundation to improve support services, fund research, remove stigmas and raise awareness of mental health issues like depression, post traumatic stress injury and suicide, especially for those within the emergency service and defence communities.
As of the time of publication, the current fundraising total was $792,248.
The Pakenham CFA brigade members joined 719 firefighters and emergency services first responders from Australia and New Zealand.
Representing Pakenham, Nicholas Raca, Natalie Morgan, Jarrod Mann, Adrian Rowe, Shymma Harris, Leesa McBurnie and Jack McCartney took to the climb, with Jarrod Mann setting the fastest time among the Pakenham members completing the climb in seven minutes and 47 seconds with Jack McCartney following close behind with a time of seven minutes and 49 seconds.
Other participating brigades included Emerald ($16,675), Bunyip ($3984), Beaconsfield ($3975), Kooweerup ($2380), Longwarry ($790), Toomuc ($600), Tooradin ($430), Lang Lang ($395) and Upper Beaconsfield ($365).
The event also honoured the 343 firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty during the September 11 2001 attacks in New York, with each climber including the name and photo of a New York City Fire Department firefighter on their bib.
Emerald CFA second lieutenant and 000 Foundation director Chris May was the second highest individual fundraiser, raising $14,099 for the 000 Foundation.
“As part of the event management team, the day went off without a hitch and was conducted in a very efficient and safe manner thanks to our climb crew volunteers, many of whom come from supporting brigades, most notably Pakenham CFA lieutenant Natalie Morgan and firefighter Jarrod Mann,” he said.
With 30 firefighters from the Cardinia LGA taking part, there was a good mix of firefighters from their respective brigades, he said.
Mr May said the climb represented a “mammoth physical challenge” for all participants, who had been training for the event for months.
“There are two categories, being Donned, where they just wear the Breathing Apparatus cylinder on their back for the weight, or Donned and Started, where the firefighter wears the mask and breaths air from the air cylinder,” he said.
Since the inaugural year in 2014, the event has raised more than $3.9 million for the Alfred Hospital Burns Unit, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Lifeline, the Black Dog Institute, 000Foundation and the Emergency Services Foundation.
For more information or to donate, visit firefighterclimb.org.au
