In the past, Taranaki fire brigades were stuck up and down the stairs on Sunday in case of an emergency, all for good reason.
A powerful team of six from the Oakura Brigade will represent the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge station in Auckland on August 20th.
At a charity event funded by the Leukemia & Blood Cancer Foundation, firefighters across the country wore 25 kg of gear, covered 51 steps and reached a height of 328 meters before climbing 1103 steps of the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. increase.
To prepare for the body, the Oakura team alternated on Sunday through the stairwell outside the Center City Shopping Mall.
read more:
* St Andrews firefighters step up to Sky Tower stairs challenge
* Southland firefighters prepare for the Sky Tower Challenge
* Jim Sneden won the QSM for 50 years of dedication to the Waiuk Volunteer Fire Brigade
Lisa Bird / Staff
Oakura volunteer firefighter Lizzie Beverridge wore 25 kg of additional equipment for a training session and received a lot of attention from spectators.
Their efforts were noticed by many passers-by, stopping in chat and dropping one or two coins into a donation bucket to raise $ 385.
Among the climbers was Lizzie Beverridge, a four-year volunteer firefighter who joined the village shortly after moving.
“I wanted to help the new community,” she said. “I wanted to meet and help people.”
Beverridge, 54, estimates that she was fully equipped with five-story stairs and climbed 15 times with a breathing mask.
The retired business owner who suffered from cancer participated in the Sky Tower mountain climbing twice, and last time he climbed the mountain in 18 minutes and 25 seconds.
“You have to be pretty healthy to be a firefighter,” she said. “The equipment can be quite heavy.”
Manakakant, a volunteer firefighter from Oakura, says the teams had the goal of raising $ 1,500 each.
Her motive for participating in charity climbing was personal, as she lost her best friend due to cancer.
Like Beveridge, she said she had previously participated in the Sky Tower Challenge and wasn’t lacking in interest in signing up.
“That’s what many people want to do.”
Lisa Bird / Staff
A squad of six volunteer fire brigades from Oakura used the Center City stairs as a training ground on Sunday before participating in the Sky Tower Challenge on August 20th. Firefighter Lizzy Beverridge heads to the stairs.
She said the training for the event was a “great team building practice”.
Kant, who joined the Oakura Brigade after moving to the area from Mangaweka, said recruitment activities are underway to increase the number of stations in the village, which currently has 18 people.
It was expected to attract the interest of those who live in Oakura and are available during the day. She said it would be a “bonus” because anyone with a Class 2 license needed a truck driver.
Anyone interested in making a donation before the Sky Tower Challenge can access firefighterschallenge.org.nz.