Firefighters conquer tower climb

You may have noticed firefighters out in the community over the last couple of weeks soliciting donations for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Firefighters sang at Sisters Coffee, ran on a stairclimber at Ray's Food Place, and threw an open house at Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Station No. 701.

All of these events led up to the assault on the Columbia Center Tower in Seattle by five local firefighters, in an effort to raise funds for research into leukemia and lymphoma.

On Sunday, March 8, two Sisters firefighters, Dave Keller and Travis Bootes, and three Cloverdale firefighters, Damon Frutos, Spencer Cashwell, and Clinton Weaver, joined over 1,700 other firefighters who completed the stairway climb at the Columbia Center Tower wearing their fire gear.

At the event, firefighters line up outside the building starting at 8 a.m. A firefighter enters the stairwell every 12 seconds. The grueling climb is a test of endurance and mental toughness. The stairwell is hot and unventilated. Firefighters are wearing about 60 pounds of gear as they make their way up 69 floors, 1,311 steps, more than 700 feet into the sky. Air tanks, which hold a limited amount of air, connect to masks strapped to their faces. Controlling their breathing is a must. There is a single opportunity on the 40th floor to pause and change air tanks if the need arises. There are pictures at every turn of cancer survivors and those who lost their battle with the disease.

All five local firefighters completed the climb in less than 30 minutes. The fastest, Dave Keller (winner of this year's Sisters Fire District Fire Fitness Award), finished in just over 16 minutes.

The firefighters would like to thank all of the people who have donated to this fundraising effort this year. Cloverdale firefighters are currently about $600 short of their $7,500 fundraising goal for this year. Sisters firefighters are approximately $1,500 short of their goal. Donations are being accepted until March 31.

To donate visit http://www.llswa.org/goto/sistersfire or http://www.llswa.org/goto/cloverdalefire. Checks or cash donations can be dropped off at the Sisters-Camp Sherman main fire station on S. Elm St., or at the new Cloverdale fire administrative offices on Cloverdale Road.