CARSTAIRS-DIDSBURY -- Firefighters from the Didsbury and Carstairs fire departments are in training this week in preparation for the upcoming Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge in downtown Calgary.
The challenge takes place May 5 at The Bow, one of Canada's tallest buildings. The charity event raises awareness and support for firefighters and other citizens living with cancer.
Dave Warnock is the team leader for the Carstairs contingent. Last year he and two other members, Thane Schaffer and Austin Hogg, made the climb for the first time. This year those three are returning along with fellow members Justin Morton, Tyler McNabb and Josh Van Arnam.
Warnock said he enjoyed the stairclimb last year although it was harder than he expected.
The stairclimb is 778 vertical feet and has 1,204 steps. Each firefighter carries about 25 kilograms of gear.
"It was quite a bit more challenging than most of us were prepared for," said Warnock. "You can train quite a bit on a stairclimber or climbing stairs, but once you have to throw on an additional 55 pounds of gear things change in a hurry.
"Your turnout gear for a firefighter is basically an oven mitt covered by a raincoat with another jacket on top of that. So you cannot shed heat as you climb."
Warnock said that with wearing all those layers it's very tough to cool down.
"You continue to get hotter and hotter as you climb," he said. "It's quite challenging."
Warnock said he signed up for the first stairclimb challenge to challenge himself both physically and mentally and got what he was looking for.
"I think everyone has their own story of why they're climbing, but for me, I wanted to challenge myself in a way that would encourage me to do some additional physical activity," he said. "My full job isn't that active. It's more of an office job than anything. It's a way to get more engaged."
The other main reason Warnock signed on is because of the great charity the challenge supports.
"I really believe strongly in the charity," he said. "Wellspring Calgary provides support for cancer patients. It's a little different than your typical charity that raises money for research. This is really providing support and mechanisms for people suffering with cancer. Not only firefighters but the general public. It also supports the Firefighters Assistance Charitable Society (FACS)."
Cancer treatment is so important since firefighters are more at risk of developing cancers because of exposure to carcinogens in smoke, he said.
Warnock said the three Carstairs firefighters climbed The Bow as a team last year relying on each other for support.
"We climbed as a team," he said. "As we struggled we pushed through together and we all finished together."
The six Carstairs firefighters have been training hard in preparation for the 2019 climb, he said.
"This year I feel I'm a bit better prepared overall," he said. "The guys are all training right now. We're motivating each other. We get on the stairclimb machine and take pictures to show how far we've climbed and send it to the group at large. So that's been good."
As of press time Monday, the Carstairs group has raised about 70 per cent of its fundraising goal of $1,410.
David Smith, who will be attending his fourth stairclimb, is the captain of the Didsbury contingent. Joining Smith in the climb this year will be fellow members Kyle Leeson, Kyray Falk, Ryder Falk and Raphael Buergi.
Smith, Leeson and Kyray Falk participated in the stairclimb in 2018.
Smith told the Gazette he enjoys the social aspect of the event as much as anything.
"I've been doing it since 2016," said Smith. "It's a really fun way to meet other firefighters from all over the place. The first year there were a couple of hundred and now it has grown and gained a lot of momentum. Now you see firefighters from all over the world."
Smith is a stairclimb ambassador and he gets to spend time with some of the newer climbers.
"We've got people coming from New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark," he said. "We've got people from the United States as well. It's great when you get to meet firefighters from around the globe."
The Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge, which began in 2014, was inspired by Kathy Blas, sister of a local fallen firefighter, Gord Paul.
The Bow challenge was modelled after the Seattle stairclimb, which Smith took part in in 2018.
Smith also feels that supporting the two charities, Wellspring Calgary and FACS, is very important.
Although he's done the climb several times, Smith still finds it quite challenging.
"You're ascending The Bow tower emergency stairwell access, which is the west side of the tower, in your structural firefighter gear: you're wearing your helmet, your jacket, your pants, your SCBA (tank)," he said. "You're not wearing an air mask, just the big weight on your back.
"Given all the weight you're carrying, that's almost 40 pounds you're carrying up. It gets fairly strenuous. It's straight up all the way up 54 flights to the top."
Smith's advice for the newcomers to the challenge is to just get out there and train hard.
"Start training early," he said. "Get running and work on your cardiovascular health. If you can do that you'll do pretty well. Set yourself a goal and try to meet it. What I stress most is you owe it to yourself. This is a challenge worthy of being proud of. It goes towards so many great causes.
"If you can get to the finish line you can show that you 'have what it takes,' which is the slogan printed at the top. "
The Didsbury firefighters have raised more than $1,380 in donations so far and are hoping to increase that amount.
"It's going well," he said. "I'm very proud of what the team has been able to accomplish so far."
Anyone wanting to donate to either team can go to calgarystairclimb.com and click on Show a Firefighter Support and search for either team or an individual firefighter.
