With more condo towers going up in Burnaby all the time, it’s nice to know local firefighters are among the fastest in North America at sprinting to the tops of tall buildings.
A 12-member team from the Burnaby Fire Department proved that last weekend in Seattle by winning the annual LLS Firefighter Stairclimb, billed as the tallest “on-air” stair climb competition in the world.
The “on-air” part means firefighters run up the stairs wearing full gear, including their breathing apparatus, as they would during a fire.
The event, held Sunday at the 69-storey Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, attracted competitors from 330 fire departments and eight countries.
With the win, the Burnaby team unseated the Missoula Fire Department, which had long dominated the race.
To sweeten the victory, Burnaby firefighter Craig Smith (the overall top finisher) broke the competition’s all-time record, set by a Missoula firefighter in 2012.
Five Burnaby firefighters finished in the top 10: Smith in first (10:38), Colton Porter in second (11:36), John Clune in sixth (12:08), Brett Andersen in ninth (12:30) and Logan Weiss in 10th (12:35).
Their overall time was 34:22.6 compared to second place Missoula at 38:11.3.
The event raised more than $2 million for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The Burnaby team raised $5,844.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
Email cnaylor@burnabynow.com
