Area firefighters step up for blood cancer research

It was an up and down time – in a good way – for three La Conner area firefighters Sunday.

Skagit County Fire District 13 Chief Wood Weiss, Lt. Cole Harris and firefighter Kenna Barnes took part in the 32nd annual Firefighter Stair Climb at the Columbia Center, the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest, to raise funds for the Washington/Alaska chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The local trio scaled 69 floors and 788 feet of elevation – over 1,300 steps in all – while wearing bunker gear.

This, then, was no mere weekend stroll in the city.

"We all had about 50 pounds of gear and had to stay on-air," Weiss told the Weekly News Monday. "It was an intense climb and I'm very proud of our team. The training allows us to fight the next fire with greater strength and endurance and help a good cause at the same time."

Weiss should know. He was making his 11th Columbia Center climb and finished in just under 22 minutes.

"That was good enough," said Weiss, "for fifth out of the 60-year-olds and 682nd out of 1,605 participants."

Still, it fell short of his personal best.

"I was two minutes-plus slower than my normal times," he said, "which were all pre-COVID."

It was the first Firefighter Stair Climb for Harris and Barnes, each of whom reached the top in around a half hour.

The District 13 team took time to mark its towering feat with photos taken both from the finish area and ground floor of the Columbia Center, which when opened in 1985 was the tallest structure on the West Coast. It is now the fourth-tallest, behind buildings in San Francisco and Los Angeles. However, it continues to boast the highest public viewing area west of the Mississippi River.

Event organizers said over 300 fire departments from across the nation were represented at the downtown Seattle climb. There were also entries from Canada and France, they said.

"I believe the winning time was 10:36 and I can't even fathom that," said Weiss.

Some of the fastest climbers can generally ascend to the top of the tower in 12 to 14 minutes in full gear and breathing through oxygen tanks.

With no exceptions, firefighters afterward said the event – dubbed the world's largest on-air stair climb competition – is physically exhausting but nothing compared to what those dealing with blood cancer must endure.

Nearly $25 million has been raised in support of LLS since inception of the Firefighter Stair Climb. The FD 13 team's share was $1.400.

While Sunday's climb was open only to career and volunteer firefighters, the public has an opportunity to raise funds for LLS and conquer the Columbia Center later this month when the annual Big Climb Seattle is slated. It is set for March 26.