Simsbury Firefighters and Friends Tackle the Tower at Hartford 21

On the sunny but brisk morning of March 26, members of the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company and friends came by bus load and by car load to the Hartford 21 building on 221 Trumbull Street in Hartford. They were there to climb 34 flights of stairs, many firefighters in full regalia, to raise money for the American Lung Association.

“We started three years ago,” said Captain Jay Dixon. “In Simsbury we like to help charity. It is great for people to see what else we do besides running into fires.”

“We are also promoting health and wellness within the fire department. It is good motivation to stay on top of your game because it is a very difficult challenge,” added Dixon, who is a volunteer firefighter in Simsbury, as well as a full-time Torrington firefighter while working on taking continuing education classes in emergency rescue with 18 other Simsbury volunteer firefighters.

They had hoped to exceed last year’s climb which raised $10,000 for the cause by setting a goal for $15,000 and they did.

As of March 28, the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company's 83-member team was the leading team for fundraising with $18,515.31 raised for this climb alone.

The American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climbs are called “vertical road races” because these races happen in prominent sky scrapers or places where there are many steps. Often the firefighters climb in their gear which adds anywhere from 40 to 60 pounds, but still doesn’t include axes and all of the tools they may actually carry into a fire.

Climbs are considered a way participants can show support by raising money to fight lung disease (including asthma, COPD, and cancer). Some climb in memorial to someone.

“It is challenging for us with the air pack,” said Simsbury firefighter Kellan Boudreau. “It is fun and we love doing it to support a great cause.”

A firefighter’s air pack is a life saving device that is a self-contained breathing apparatus that resembles scuba gear. It is heavy and bulky and attached to their backs when going into a fire rescue.

Randy Chesanek, Simsbury's Chief of Training said, “I do it ... to find the cause and cure for cancer. It is a small thing I can do” added Chesanek who has close ties with someone who has stage four lung cancer.

“This is my third time doing this,” said Lt. Ken Boudreau a Simsbury firefighter who also did a “warm up” climb of 41 flights of stairs in Boston on February 5, 2011.

“The funny story about today’s climb is that when you get to thirty-four they tell you there’s one more,” Boudreau said. “There’s no floor thirteen.”

Boudreau, 54, has been training for these charity climbs. According to his wife, Lee Boudreau who was there to support her husband and son Kellan, Ken Boudreau has been climbing the stair stepper daily with an added 45-pound weighted vest and five added pounds on each leg.

“Ken’s doing this for my roommate from college,” said Lee Boudreau. “Her husband died the week before Thanksgiving from stage four lung cancer.”

Many civilians from Simsbury were also there to climb for the cause including Rob Thompson, Rich McGraw, Katie Jacob and Tammy O’Brien. One of them is even using it as a good way to commit to quitting smoking.

Carin Tripodina, a volunteer that day and a pediatric nurse for kids with chronic lung disease, expressed her sense of gratitude at the event saying, “I am so glad to see people are still volunteering in our society.”

For more information about donating to the 2011 Fight for Air Climb see: http://www.lungusa.org/pledge-events/ct/hartford-climb/.

Here are the results of Saturday’s Climb in Hartford at Hartford 21: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/11/ct/Mar26_Tackle_set1.shtml.