On May 7, members of the Olds Fire Department (OFD) will be participating in the Firefighter Stair Climb challenge ñ climbing up all 1,204 steps of the Bow building in Calgary, said to be among Western Canada's tallest buildings and the highest-elevation stair climb in the world.
What's more, they'll be making that climb in full firefighter gear.
In total, nearly 500 firefighters from across North America will be competing to see who can make it to the top in all that gear the fastest.
The event, hosted by the Calgary Firefighters Benevolent Society and presented by Encana Corporation, raises funds for Wellspring Calgary, which helps people and their families battling cancer, which is often an occupational hazard for firefighters.
When interviewed last week, Noel D'Arcy, one of the Olds firefighters taking part in the climb, said the OFD had raised about $8,100 for the cause, third-highest among teams taking part in the event. As of late last week, a total of $254,738 had been raised by all teams participating.
D'arcy says the height of the 55-storey Bow building and the fact the climb is said to be the highest-elevation stair climb in the world attracts firefighters from across the continent.
ì(You factor in) the elevation we are already at and you put the building on top of it, the air gets pretty thin as you get to the top,î he says.
This is the second straight year local firefighters have competed in the climb and this year, 11 OFD firefighters are taking part, broken into three teams. D'Arcy says last year, two OFD teams participated.
D'Arcy is the captain of team OFD, which also includes assistant fire chief Rene Schoonderbeek as well as firefighters Casey Bateman and Ciaran Boggan.
Team OFD Rookies consists of firefighter and stair climb captain Stu Didyk plus fellow firefighters Josh Watkins, Jamie Vasseur and Pete Waycott.
Team Olds Fire Dept. consists of firefighter and stair climb captain Sara Durocher along with fellow firefighters Dave Mitchell and Taylor Jacobson.
When asked why he and other OFD members are taking on this climb, D'Arcy says, ìit's a challenge, it's not a common thing.î
Besides, he says,ìit's good team building for us here. It's almost like a recreational activity for us. It brings us together in training and it brings us together fundraising. And all in all, it's just a real feel-good thing to do.î
OFD's three teams have been training and raising money for this event since January when they signed up.
D'Arcy says to train, they've run up and down stairs at the fire department several times and gone up and down stairs near the field of crosses by Memorial Drive in Calgary.
Funds have been raised through social media. D'Arcy says firefighters will also take cash as well.
He says in addition to the challenge of the event itself, the camaraderie of competitors is part the attraction.
ìYou might see someone who's doing worse than you and you try to encourage them and they'll encourage you. It's kinda like everybody helps everybody,î D'Arcy says.
Last year, it took OFD members between 14 and 26 minutes to make it all the way to the top. D'Arcy made the climb in 14. He's hoping to beat that time this year.
He says the best time overall is 11 minutes, which he describes as ìfreakishly fast.î He's not sure he can do it that fast, but he's going to try.
Some might think climbing more than 1,200 stairs in full firefighter gear is the hardest part of the event, but D'Arcy says climbing wasn't really an issue for him ñ breathing was.
ìI remember from last year there were volunteers every few floors as you went up. They had water and whatnot,î he says. ìI didn't really want to drink water but I took my helmet off and I'm like, ëcan you pour that water into my helmet? Just pour the water into my helmet.' It was the greatest feeling in the world.î
He says breathing was tough because the stairways are pressurized for fire suppression purposes.
ìThere's a fan in there pretty much that just changes the pressure in the stairs from what's on the floors. So essentially, it'll keep smoke out of there. So that makes the breathing a little more difficult on the lungs and stuff,î D'Arcy says.
Once they reach the top and rest for a while, they'll go back down ñ by elevator this time, and there'll be a street party and food for participants.
For more information on the stair climb and to sponsor a local firefighter, please visit: http://calgarystairclimb.com/
They had water and whatnot," he says. "I didn't really want to drink water but I took my helmet off and I'm like, 'can you pour that water into my helmet? Just pour the water into my helmet.' It was the greatest feeling in the world."NOEL D'ARCY OLDS FIREFIGHTER
