Crime & Safety

West Pierce's Joint Delegation For Stair Climb Nothing New

When the departments worked as separate entities, their firefighters still worked together during the stair climb.

So far, much of to a joint department has been relatively smooth, given that many of the firefighters worked with each other for years in the sister departments of University Place and Lakewood.

So Sunday’s annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb 2011 in Seattle shouldn’t be any different; the department will send a team composed of participants from both former departments.

“We’ve always had a pretty good relationship with Lakewood,” said firefighter paramedic Jeff Leuschen. “It won’t be anything different.”

Find out what's happening in University Placewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

West Pierce will send a team of 13 participants–half from former UP and Lakewood fire departments respectively—to the annual event that benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Participants from fire departments around the Northwest climb the steps of Seattle’s 943-foot-tall Columbia Center, the second tallest building west of the Mississippi.

That’s 1,311 steps. And they must do it wearing about 80 pounds of standard-issued gear, including pack, uniform and mask.

Find out what's happening in University Placewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“None of the heat that your body generates escapes,” Leuschen said.

It takes most firefighters 20 minutes to finish, give or take a few minutes. 

Last year, the event featured more than 1,500 firefighters from 247 different departments and generated a record $780,000 for blood-cancer research and patient services.

Here is West Pierce Fire & Rescue’s team:

-Michael Boltz

-Adam Dockstader

-Norm Fiacchi

-Gus Hebish

-Matt Johnson

-Peter Kilga

-Kirk Lackermayer

-Jeff Leuschen

-Marney Mell

-Collin Murphy

-Tyler Newton

-Ken Von Stein

-Steve Vukich

-Jason Yantzer

To visit the team’s website or to donate to the cause, click here.

Check back later today to find out results from the event.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from University Place