Seattle Stair Climb Fundraiser Honors 9/11 Heroes

The Seattle Stair Climb is an annual event held at the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, Washington. At 788 feet of vertical elevation, the Columbia Center is the second tallest building west of the Mississippi. Every year, over 1900 firefighters race up the 69 floors and 1,356 steps to the observation deck wearing full structural firefighter clothing and equipment, including breathing air from a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The firefighters are allowed to change out their oxygen bottles once on the 40th floor.

The strenuous fundraising event attracts firefighters from over 330 United States departments and includes firefighters from all over the world. In 2016, the firefighters participating in the Seattle Stair Climb raised $2.3 million dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) to be used for blood-cancer research and patient services. Firefighters from the Santa Clara County Fire Department have volunteered their time fundraising for the LLS. At the 2015 Stair Climb, we sent 24 participants and raised over $22,000.