Travis firefighters set sights on stair climb

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Amber Carter
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  More than 1,900 firefighters from around the world will don 60 pounds of gear, including helmet, protective suit, breathing apparatus and air cylinders, and climb 69 flights of stairs March 6 at the Columbia Center Tower in Seattle, Washington, at 788 feet of vertical elevation. The 1,356 steps will be ascended to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Six firefighters from Travis Air Force Base, California, will participate in the event and have set up their own local fundraisers for the cause.

The first fundraiser will be held from 4 to 10 p.m. Feb. 9 at Napoli Pizza at 2030 Nut Tree Road in Vacaville, California. Napoli's will be donating a generous percentage of all sales to Travis Firefighters for LLS.

Another fundraiser will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Travis Base Exchange. Travis Firefighters will be in front of the BX in full gear climbing stairs and accepting donations. One-hundred percent of the funds raised by the firefighters will be given directly to LLS.

The final fundraiser will be from 12 to 5 p.m. Feb. 21 at Firehouse Subs at 1640 East Monte Vista Ave. in Vacaville.

"I first started participating when I was with my previous department in the Seattle area ... this is my third year," said Nick Christensen, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron fire captain, emergency medical technician and Travis team captain. "That department was pretty involved with it at the time and after participating once and seeing the camaraderie and positive impact it had, I was hooked."

Christensen spent six years as an active duty Air Force firefighter in Guam, Iraq, Italy, Spain, Kyrgyzstan and Arkansas. He spent the last six-and-a-half years as a Department of Defense civilian working for both the Air Force and Navy in Nevada, Washington, Sicily and California.

The Scott Firefighter Stairclimb, named after a company who manufacturers innovative respiratory and personal protective equipment and safety devices for firefighters, industrial workers, police squads, militaries, homeland security forces and rescue teams around the world, has raised more than $10 million since it began 25 years ago. The funds have helped develop new, more effective, less toxic treatments for patients with blood cancers.

"This event is important to me because I have been able to see the impact it has on raising funds for blood cancer research," Christensen said. "Last year alone the Stairclimb raised $2.2 million. As a firefighter, I have never been to an event that has such positive energy and camaraderie from the first minute of opening ceremonies. It doesn't matter what department you're from or what country you're from, you're all there for the same reason."

Donations also can be made to the Travis Fire Department team by visiting www.firefighterstairclimb.org.