Mercer fire brigade seeking top effort and thousands of dollars in 1029-stair Sky Tower fund-raiser

Mercer’s fire brigade is seeking a top effort and thousands of dollars in the annual 1029-stair Sky Tower Challenge fundraiser next month.

Last year five of the brigade took part and ran the stairs for the finish on the 51st floor in full firefighting gear including breathing apparatus in times between 15:58mins and 24:31mins.

This year 12 Mercer firefighters are taking part in an effort to raise thousands of dollars for the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation of NZ in Auckland on May 23.

A spokeswoman for the brigade Jane Crisp said they had been training for months before the climb to raise fitness levels.

``We have stairs at the back of our station which we climb 32 times in full firefighting gear and breathing apparatus on our backs which totals 22kgs. We do that around four times a week, plus gym training. Thirty-two times up the stairs is equivalent to the amount of stairs up the Sky Tower. We have to descend 32 times too,’’ Crisp said today.

Among the Mercer firefighters competing is Rick Lussi whose son Max was diagnosed with leukaemia at aged three. He has made a full recovery and is now 12 years old.

About 250 firefighters will take part in the annual event this year.