Libby firefighters climb for a cause

For the third straight year firefighters from the Libby Volunteer Fire Department will travel to Seattle, Wash., to participate in the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb Sunday, March 6. 1,925 firefighters, in full gear, will run up 69 flights of stairs in Seattle’s Columbia Center Tower in a race against their comrades and themselves as part of the battle against cancer. The event, celebrating its 25th year in 2016, is a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Libby Volunteer Fire Deparment Second Assistant Chief Scott Beagle will be leading the Libby contingent, comprised of himself, Neil Benson and Jason Sunnel, in the competition. This is Beagle’s third year participating in the event and Sunnel and Benson’s second.

Beagle said he was inspired to join the competition by Brenda Bosch, a colleague of his who is also a cancer survivor. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is an organization dedicated to the eradication of blood cancers and to help improve the lives of those afflicted. That mission, Beagle said, makes the organization a group well worth supporting.

“It’s a personal challenge for us, to just go do it,” he said. “But it’s also a wonderful organization to raise money for.”

Sunnel said he is proud to be part of something so worthwhile.

“I did it last year and it’s for a really great cause,” he said. “It’s great to be a part of something that raises so much money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.”

Benson’s motivation to participate is more directly personal. He has lost a cousin to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and has an uncle who has recently beaten the disease.

“It’s one of those things that hits close to home for me and my family,” he said. “So anything we can do to help raise awareness is a great thing. It’s a super-neat event. It’s really humbling to be part of something like this. The amount of funds raised at this is absolutely amazing.”

According to the event’s website, the 2014 challenge raised nearly $2 million for the society. This year’s challenge is expected to bring even more.

Beagle said the gear in which they run, full turnouts with oxygen, weighs about 45 pounds. In order to prepare for the grueling task of running 69 flights of stairs carrying that weight, the Libby firefighters have been training for months. 

The last phase of their training has been taking place during the past two months. Fellow firefighter Jason Place works at Libby Dam and with his help the trio secured permission from the Army Corps of Engineers to train inside the dam. They run up the dam’s 37 flights of stairs, then take the elevator back down to the bottom and make a second trip up the stairs. They run the routine once a week during the months of January and February to prepare for the March event.

Beagle said his goal for this year’s run is to break the 18 minute mark for the 69 floors. Last year he finished in 20:12, which was his personal best.

“There’s an elite group that climbs it in the 12 to 15 minute range,” he said. “Then there’s another group in the 20 minute range. Technically, it’s a fundraiser, but whenever there’s a time attached it becomes a competition. Our goal is to beat each other, to win local bragging rights.”

To donate money to the Libby team, visit http://www.llswa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ff_home and click the donate button. From the search screen, enter Libby Volunteer Fire Department and click search.