Ashhurst firefighters climb tower
Climbing up thousands of stairs to raise funds for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand is always a challenge.
But a team of Ashhurst volunteer firefighters came to the party raising the third highest amount in New Zealand for a team of their size.
The Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge was held over the weekend, with 900 firefighters from all over the country running up 1103 steps in 25 kilograms of gear.
Neil Foot, of Ashhurst, said the team were proud of their efforts. The team of five raised $15,000. ‘‘It’s an achievement for little old Ashhurst.’’
As the Sky Tower is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, Foot said it was hard to prepare for such a challenge. ‘‘It was a little bit nerve-racking. There were people who didn’t make it on the day.’’
Team captain Josh Casey had a personal best time of 13 minutes and 35 seconds and everyone else had times they were proud of as well, Foot said.
Most of their team had been training since Christmas and Foot said they were all hoping to do it next year. While completing the challenge, Foot said he ran out of oxygen in his tank, so had to just carry on.
When he reached the, top he felt exhausted, but proud.
Overall, $1.25 million was raised for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand, with 900 firefighters from all over the country taking part in the challenge.
Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand chief executive Pru Etcheverry said reaching another fundraising record was humbling and showed how committed the firefighters were.
‘‘We are so grateful to this incredible group of firefighters who have been raising money for months to ensure LBC can continue to support patients in their communities and around the country,’’ Etcheverry said.