On Saturday, September 6, volunteers Dominic Dean, James Bray and Jodie Elvey competed in the Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb, making their way up 28 floors in 25kg of gear.
The annual event simulates the actions of a high-rise building firefight and rescue operation, bringing together 1000 emergency personnel to climb up the Crown Metropol Hotel.
Mr Dean, who has been leading the brigade’s cohort of stair climbers for the past few years, was the quickest to reach the top, in just eight minutes and 19 seconds.
First-time climber Mr Bray followed with a time of nine minutes and 22 seconds, and Ms Elvey recorded a time of 13 minutes and 19 seconds, smashing her last climb record by 37 seconds.
Mr Dean said there was no amount of training that could have prepared them for the gruelling 28-floor lug.
“I said to the guys beforehand; it doesn't matter what training you do or how far you try and replicate it physically — you can’t mentally prepare for anything like that at all,” he said.
And while all of them were a bit off the winner’s pace — a mark of three minutes and 31 seconds set by Devonport’s Marlon Von Moger — Mr Dean said they were happy to have finished.
“We all got up there — and we’re alive — so that’s a good start,” he said.
The team reached their fundraising goal, pulling together $4416 of donations to go towards fighting cancer through research and mental health crisis support.
Mr Dean said the team raised most of the money through events they held in the lead up to the climb, including a golf tournament at Hill Top Golf and Country Club where 90 groups set out for a bit of competitive golf and fundraising.
Having raised over $1000 each, the Kyabram climbers have secured priority entry for next year's event.
Mr Dean is enthusiastic about the future, hoping to involve more of the brigade’s volunteers in this meaningful challenge.
“We’ll get in there and have another go, I guess, and hopefully, we can get some more people to come on board,” he said.
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