Polson firefighters climb for a cure
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POLSON — Firefighters from the Polson Volunteer Fire Department will be traveling to Seattle to climb the Columbia Center for the 2013 Scott Firefighter Stairclimb. Firefighters climb 69 floors, 1,317 steps and 788 vertical feet. No shorts and T-shirts are allowed, either. They climb in 45 pounds of firefighting gear, complete with turnouts, air masks and tanks, “everything we use for structure firefighting,” according to Polson firefighter Martin Glasson.
While this might not sound like much fun, it’s for a good cause, the Leukemia Lymphoma Association. Polson firefighters have raised 79 to 80 percent of their $7,000 goal.
Seven Polson firefighters — Peter Bishop, Bruce Gerlach, Glasson, Chris McGuinness, Julie Sisler, Matt Sisler and Kevin Straub — will leave on March 8 and climb on March 10.
The men all had good things to say about Julie, the lone female on their team.
“She’s the toughest one of us all,” McGuinness said.
The group recently displayed their climbing prowess on a stair-climbing machine at Polson Walmart during a fundraising event help to defray expenses for their trip.
“We all work out at the fire hall,” Bishop said, “to keep in shape and donate back to the community. It makes us a better family.”
Some of the firemen participate in CrossFit, a program where they work out for three days in a row and rest one, but others lift weights and utilize equipment on their own schedules.
Their gym is open to all first responders, Bishop explained, such as search and rescue, ambulance and police personnel.
While training for the stairclimb, firefighters have learned valuable information about their personal strengths and limitations.
“Some of us are air-limited, and some of us are heat-limited,” McGuinness said.
Through training, they’ve learned ways to anticipate and minimize these issues.
To donate or to purchase a T-shirt to help cover firefighter travel expenses, contact Bishop at Bishop Insurance at 883-5372 or any of the other team members.
