Libby firemen compete in fundraising challenge
<p>LVFD firefighters Neil Benson, left, Scott Beagle and Jason Sunell.</p>
The Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, Wash., is the second tallest building west of the Mississippi River. It takes 69 flights of stairs and 1,311 steps to reach the top.
Libby Volunteer Fire Department Second Assistant Chief Scott Beagle made the climb in 20 minutes, 14 seconds during the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb held March 8.
The challenge is a fundraiser for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society, in which 1,700 firefighters from around the world race to the top of the Columbia Center wearing their full regimen of gear.
This is Beagle’s second year in the challenge and this year he brought fellow Libby volunteers Neil Benson and Jason Sunell with him. Beagle’s time put him in the 600th position.
Benson finished the climb in 25:02, placing 1,101st. Sunell came in 1,187th, with a finish time of 26:11.
“The main reason we do this is to support the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society,” Beagle said. “But it also helps us with training. As a department and as individuals, it’s a training motivator. It helps us bring the department closer together and build a brotherhood.”
The firefighters trained by running up the stairs at the Libby Dam once per week. Beagle said the dam has 35 flights of stairs, so they would run up the stairs, ride the elevator down and then run up the stairs a second time.
Beagle said the gear adds about 50 pounds, but that isn’t the biggest challenge.
“It’s not the weight. It’s the heat exhaustion that sucks out your energy,” he said.
Andrew Drobeck, of Missoula City Fire, was the fastest competitor in the challenge. He clocked in at 10:46. Beagle’s goal wasn’t to win the race, but to finish in under 20 minutes.
“I was a little upset about my time,” he said. “I really wanted to finish in that 19-minute range, but I only missed by 15 seconds.”
Even with the disappointment of missing that self-imposed mark, Beagle said finishing is a great feeling.
“You’re thinking as you run this course, ‘why am I doing this?’ But when you’re at the top and looking down, wow, what an accomplishment.”