ClimbDetroit.com

March 4th, 2012 I will be climbing all 70 flights of stairs at the Detroit Renaissance Center.  I'll be joining a few other firefighters from Meridian Township Fire Department, IAFF Local 1600.  We are  taking part in the American Lung Association's "Climb Detroit" event in the Firefighter Full Gear Challenge. 

70 flights of stairs (1035 steps) in FULL FIREFIGHTING TURN OUT GEAR with air packs; this is a total of almost 100 pounds of gear.  MSU's Alumni Association gave us a unique opportunity to climb the stairs at MSU Spartan Stadium today.  We geared up and hit the 8 flights of stairs multiple times and after an hour of climbing, we had climbed 2000 steps.  We were even honored with the presence of Sparty himself who braved the stairs with an air pack as well.

Watch the MSU Alumni Association's video about today's practice here:

Our team consists of firefighters from Meridian Township Fire Department and our team goal is to raise $1000 or more for the American Lung Association.  This is a great opportunity for us to work as a team, build camaraderie and it's one crazy workout! I'm personally a sucker for this type of thing and jumped at the chance to join in the challenge.

If you would like to donate (even if it's only a few dollars) follow this secure link.  This will take you directly to the secure ALA Donation page  Donate to the ALA now.

I sincerely want to thank the MSU Alumni Association, which includes EVERY Spartan student, graduate and faculty, for helping us raise money toward this event.  A special thanks also to Dave and Sue in the MSU AA office for organizing our practice run today. Thank you for your Spartan spirit and Spartan pride!  I look forward to working with you in the future for any events!

Thank you for your support - we'll check back in after the Climb Detroit event to let you all know how well we represented Meridian Township Fire Department and Michigan State University.

ClimbDetroit.com:

FIREFIGHTER FULL GEAR CHALLENGE

All Firefighter Challenge participants are timed during their vertical climb to reach the top of the 70th floor of the Marriott Tower of the Renaissance Center and are to wear full structural firefighting personal protective equipment which meets current NFPA standards.

This includes: Boots, turnout coat and pants, helmet, gloves, and SCBA harness with air cylinder.