The 11-member Olds Fire Department (OFD) team did well in this past weekend's annual Stair Climb Challenge, in which firefighters climb all 1,204 stairs of Calgary's The Bow building to raise money for a cancer group.
This year's challenge took place April 29. It was the third straight year an OFD team has participated in the event, described as the highest elevation firefighter stair climb in the world.
Firefighter teams from across North America try to climb all the stairs as quickly as they can, wearing full firefighter gear -- including the SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) — those big cylinders firefighters carry on their backs at a fire.
They also try to raise as much money as they can for Wellspring Calgary, which provides support, resources and programs for people living with cancer and those who care about them.
"The stair climb went well for everyone. Experienced and new, everyone had a good outing. Our times ranged from 15 minutes to 31 minutes," OFD stair climb team captain Noel D'arcy says. "Everyone was in good spirits at the top of The Bow tower."
Last year, everyone finished in the 14-minute to 25-minute range.
D'arcy says the OFD team raised $5,481 for Wellspring this year. Last year's team raised $14,845, second highest among participating departments on the day of that climb.
In addition to D’arcy, members of this year's team were Casey Bateman, Ciaran Boggan, Jamie Vasseur, Josh Watkins, Nik Neider, Sam Lutz, Sara Durocher, Stu Didyk, Thomas Della Sega and Vanessa Fahlmann.
