Firefighters step up for leukaemia and blood cancer patients

In less than 24 hours, over 950 firefighters will take the Sky Tower by storm to raise funds for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ (LBC).

51 flights, 1103 steps stand between firefighters and the $1,157,379.57 they have raised so far for the LBC.

Jared Carrington has been a charitable athlete for two years running.

“You can’t help but feel good even though you feel, tired, sore, dehydrated and exhausted because you know you’ve done it for a great cause, to help people with Leukaemia. Would I do it again? Definitely.”

Participants climb the skytower in their full structural firefighting gear weighing about 25 kilograms.

Mr Carrington explains, “every 15 seconds a fire fighter starts and quickly disappears. At ground level you run around the base of the sky tower and the support you get is enough to lift any fear you may have, it’s wicked.”

This year’s fourteenth annual challenge will be kicking off at 7am tomorrow morning, with proceeds reaching over $7 million over the past 13 years.

Georgie Hackett, spokesperson for LBC says “we are so grateful for the tremendous generosity and hard work of firefighters participating in the challenge… this fundraising is the backbone of our service and helps us grow our vital support for families living with blood cancer.”