Four hardy members of the Howick Volunteer Fire Brigade are preparing for a challenge that will see them scale the inside of New Zealand’s tallest building while decked out in 25kg of gear.
James Mason, Gordon Symons, Chloe Mackey and Darren Stuck are taking part in next year’s annual Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge in central Auckland.
It’s named for the building they’ll have to conquer in an effort to raise money for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand.
“We run up 1103 steps over 51 floors,” Mason says.
“Once you reach a certain floor the heat gets to you and you just have to push through.
“It’s always about the fifth floor. I get to the fifth floor and I’m like, ‘Why am I doing this again?’.”
The challenge is being staged on May 24 next year.
The Howick volunteer firefighters taking part are raising money for the cause by asking for donations with their red buckets every second weekend at the Howick Village Saturday market.
“We’ve also got QR codes for each of us so people can donate and we’ve got a brigade QR code that takes people to the donation page,” Mason says.
“They can go online and search for individual brigades or firefighters to donate to also.”
His motivation for taking on the challenge is simply to help people.
“I just enjoy being a part of such a big community,” he says.
“You’ve got hundreds of firefighters throwing themselves at this and it becomes a fun challenge against each other. We’re always upping ourselves to try to beat each other.”
Symons points out the event requires those taking part to cover a vertical elevation of 328 metres.
“Apart from giving back to the community and raising the funds, I’ve lost members of my family to cancer, so it’s a bit of a personal thing for me.
“Also, I’ve had melanoma, which I’m clean of, so I climb for myself too. Each person has their own reasons. It’s awful during it but afterward it’s great.”
The organisers say the money raised goes toward Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ which “provides essential support for patients and their families, as well as funding research into blood cancer and raising awareness and advocating for patients”.
People can donate to the Howick Volunteer Fire Brigade’s fundraising efforts online at www.firefighterschallenge.org.nz.
