Surrey, East Sussex and Guernsey trainee firefighters teamed up to tackle a continuous, eight-hour tower climb in full kit – while carrying heavy breathing apparatus – raising thousands of pounds for us as part of a charity day.
On April 16, from 10am to 6pm, the group – which included 10 Surrey trainees, three from East Sussex and another three from Guernsey – took on the epic climb at The Marches Tower in Woking.
Climbing the tower’s 31 floors on repeat, the trainee firefighters pushed themselves to the limit in Surrey’s tallest building, all for a cause close to their hearts.
Surrey trainee firefighter Dan Hewett, who’s helped organise the fundraiser, knows the difference the funds will make for his colleagues across the UK:
“Fire Fighters Charity is an amazing charity, they do so much to help so many different people, not just firefighters. Not only do they support firefighters’ physical health, through rehabilitation and other methods, but also their mental wellbeing.
“We will see a lot of difficult things throughout our career, which we have to carry with us for the rest of their lives, so knowing the charity is there for us – and our loved ones – is a huge reassurance.”
The staff working at the tower helped to host the charity day, and there was a fire engine on display for the public to see.
Dan added: “The day went well, everyone enjoyed it and had a lot of fun engaging with the public and being able to show them the appliance and the equipment we carry and use whilst attending jobs.
“The stair climb itself was definitely a challenge! The first few climbs weren’t too bad, but we all got stuck in and dug deep especially towards the end and we all made it! Most people did around 10 climbs each within the 8 hours. So far I believe we have raised over £6,000 for the charity!”
There were 202 total climbs of 31 floors. That gave a total of 6,262 floors, 21,017m covered and a huge 122,760 steps. As the height of Mt. Everest is roughly 8,840 meters, it meant the team climbed roughly 2.5 Mt. Everests on the day between them.
Louise Furneaux, our Regional Fundraiser, said: “Thank you so much to all those involved in this amazing fundraiser – from those taking part in the challenge itself, to all those supporting on the day.
“Every pound raised will help us continue to offer life-long care and support to the UK’s fire family, so they can continue to be there for us when we need them most.”
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