Firefighters fundraising for cure
POLSON CITY Firefighters, left to right, are Julie Sisler, James McKee and Reggie Heiser, as they stand outside Walmart in Polson. The trio will be part of a nine-person team from the fire department to participate in the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb next month in Seattle. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader
Over the course of the next couple of weeks, get ready to see members of a local fire department out and about, raising funds for a worthy cause.
The Polson City Fire Department will be carrying boots or waiting and bussing tables, not to stuff their pockets, but rather for “Climb for a Cure.”
The fundraiser is part of the Scott Firefighter Stair Climb in Seattle, where nine PCFD firefighters will participate.
Firefighter Pete Bishop explained that on March 18, the team will ascend the Columbia Center, which is 69 floors tall, towering 788 feet, while wearing full gear.
“You don’t have much of a break” during air tank changes, Bishop said, recalling that last year, he went from the stair well to a “pack change,” and back to the stairwell in about a minute.
This year, the department has a goal of $9,000, which is what Bishop said was raised locally last year.
To date, about $5,000 has been raised.
The event, organized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, is LLS’s annual fundraiser, which is open solely to firefighters.
Monies raised by the event go toward developing cancer therapies as well as advancing the production and application of drug treatments.
The department has participated in the event for seven years, which began as a way to work together outside of fighting fires.
“It seemed like something we could do that was a team-building” exercise, Bishop said.
The first year the department took part in the climb, there were four firefighters from Polson City Fire Department, while this year there will be nine.
Through the years, Bishop said that members have found it to be more cost-efficient for the crew members and their spouses to rent a vacation home rather than motel rooms.
“The first year, we were spread out apart, eating out and eating (food) out of coolers,” he said.
Most of the spouses participate in the climb as volunteers, he added.
Firefighters will be working at Pizza Hut, 1402 U.S. Highway 93 in Polson on Monday, Feb. 26, from 5-9 p.m., Walmart, 36318 Memory Lane, Polson, from 10-3 p.m. on March 3 and at Super 1, 50331 U.S. Highway 93 in Polson on March 8, from 10-3 p.m.
To stay updated with the Polson City Fire Department, follow them on Facebook.
For more information on LLS, visit http://www.lls.org.