Personal motivations drive firefighter’s tower climb

Who needs to take the elevator? Not the participants in this Saturday’s Fight for Air Climb, who will take the stairs — all 880 of them — to the top of the Rhodes Tower in support of the American Lung Association. The annual 40-flight climb begins at 8 a.m. Saturday.

“It really shows the participants what it feels like to have lung disease,” said Brittany Sinzinger, the senior development manager for the American Lung Association. “When they get to the top of the stairs and have a hard time breathing, we go, ‘We know.’”

Among the climbers will be Pete Richison, who has two personal reasons to scale the skyscraper.

Richison, 34, will climb for his father, Carl Richison, who has struggled with myriad breathing issues for about a decade.

But Pete also will be climbing with fellow firefighters to raise awareness of the

occupational hazards they face every day.

“We’re exposed to carcinogens and smoke, and the cancer risk is much more significant for us,” said Richison, who has been with the Whitehall Division of Fire for four years.

Sinzinger, citing statistics from the Ohio Department of Health, said lung disease has been the leading cause of cancer deaths since 1987. It’s an alarming statistic that the American Lung Association hopes to reverse by raising funds from its signature climb, which takes place in cities across the nation.

The money it raises — the Ohio organization raises about $100,00 each year — supports association efforts to improve air quality, research lung-disease treatments and reduce the financial burden on those with the disease and their caretakers.

The organization also strives to eliminate tobacco use.

This is the ninth-annual event in Columbus, and the eighth year it has been held at the Rhodes Tower, the city’s tallest building, Sinzinger said.

Online registration is closed, but participants can sign up at several locations: Thursday at the American Lung Association office, 5900 Wilcox Place, Dublin; Friday at the Columbus Running Company, 6465 Perimeter Drive, Dublin; or Saturday at the Rhodes Tower.

Registration costs $35, with a $100 fundraising minimum.

Sinzinger expects about 450 climbers this year.

Groups of 30 to 35 depart in waves according to their assigned “flight time,” Sinzinger said. The average climb takes 12 minutes, and once participants reach the top, they can take in the view before riding an elevator down to the lobby, where spectators will cheer as climbers receive a medal.

Afterward, a party is taking place at Pub Mahone, 31 E. Gate St., which will offer food and drink specials.

This will be the eighth year that Richison, who lives in Licking County’s Etna Township, has made the climb. He’ll be among 50 firefighters from divisions across the region who will scale the steps in full gear, which weighs anywhere from 40 to 60 pounds.

"It’s a very difficult climb," said Richison, who completed the ascent in nine minutes and 19 seconds last year, the second year in a row he finished with the fastest time among firefighters.

“But everyone there is about helping each other complete this challenge and working together for this cause.”