Used to racing off to emergencies, a squad of Taranaki firefighters was stuck running up and down stairs on Sunday, but it was all for a good cause.
A six-strong team from the Oakura brigade will represent the station at the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge in Auckland on August 20.
The charity event, which raises money for the Leukaemia & Blood Cancer Foundation, sees firefighters from across the nation donning 25kgs of gear before ascending 1103 steps of the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, covering 51 flights of stairs and reaching a height of 328m.
To get physically prepared, the Oakura team took turns doing relays up and down the exterior stairwell of the Centre City shopping mall on Sunday.
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LISA BURD/Stuff
Oakura volunteer firefighter Lizzie Beveridge donned 25kgs of extra gear for the training session, which attracted plenty of interest from onlookers.
Their efforts were noticed by plenty of passersby, with some stopping for a chat or dropping a coin or two in the donation bucket to raise $385.
Among the climbers was Lizzie Beveridge, who has been a volunteer firefighter for four years, having joined up shortly after moving to the village.
“I wanted to help my new community,” she said. “I wanted to meet people and help out.”
Beveridge, 54, estimated she climbed the five-storey flight of steps, in full gear and a breathing mask, 15 times.
The retired business manager, who has had cancer, has taken part in the Skytower climb twice, and last time made the ascent in 18 minutes, 25 seconds.
“You have to be pretty fit to be a firefighter,” she said. “The equipment can be pretty heavy.”
Oakura volunteer firefighter Manaka Cant said the team had a target of raising $1500 each.
Her motivation to get involved in the charity climb was personal, as she had lost a good friend to cancer.
Like Beveridge, she had taken part in the Sky Tower Challenge before, and said there was never a shortage of interest regarding sign-ups.
“It’s something that a lot of people want to do.”
LISA BURD/Stuff
A six-member squad from the Oakura volunteer fire brigade used the Centre City stairs as training ground on Sunday ahead of them taking part in the Sky Tower challenge on August 20. Firefighter Lizzie Beveridge takes to the stairs.
She said training for the event had been a “great team building exercise”.
Cant, who joined the Oakura brigade after moving to the region from Mangaweka, said a recruitment drive was also under way to boost the village’s station numbers, which currently sat at 18.
It was hoped it would attract interest from people who lived in Oakura, who could be available during the day, and anyone with a class 2 licence would be a “bonus” as they needed truck drivers, she said.
Anyone interested in making a donation ahead of the Sky Tower Challenge can visit firefighterschallenge.org.nz.
