Photo Courtesy of Cypress County

By Jayson Taylor

Climbing stairs to help raise money for cancer

Jun 7, 2023 | 1:40 PM

DUNMORE, AB – Climbing stairs can be a tiring task for many. For firefighters, climbing stairs is even more cumbersome. The Cypress County Fire Rescue are going to be participating in a fundraiser to raise money to fight cancer. A team will travel to Calgary this weekend to participate in a fundraiser to see which fire department can climb the tallest building in the city the fastest. Some of the team, however, had to be deployed up north to fight ongoing wildfires in northern Alberta, decreasing team numbers.

The building they’re climbing is Brookfield Place, a 56-story building in downtown Calgary that rises 247 m (810 ft) into the air. The firefighters will have to climb 56 stories of stairs, totaling 1370 stairs.

Jason Linton is the fire chief in Cypress County and says that the fundraiser seeks to gain awareness for people battling cancer as well as the health effects firefighting has on firefighters.

“In our occupation, over the last 23 years, there’s been a lot of research done on occupational injuries for firefighters, and the number one injury for firefighters is cancer,” Linton said on Wednesday, “WCB (Workers Compensation Board of Alberta) has actually recognized 25-26 different types of cancers as on-the-job illnesses so it is very prevalent in our industry and they want us to educate and be aware of those effects.”

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The fundraiser is hosted by Wellspring Alberta in hopes to help those who have been affected by cancer in any way. The money raised from the fundraiser will go to those who are or have battled cancer.

Linton also says that the fundraiser seeks to educate the dangers firefighters face on a daily basis and the hard work it takes.

The stair climb is taking place this Sunday, June 11. Other firefighting teams from across the region will compete in a friendly competition to see whose team can climb the 56 stories the fastest while raising money for a great cause. You can donate by visiting the Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge website.