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Firefighters
Police, Firefighters, Emergency Medical Personnel
Join us in the fight for healthy lungs and clean air and show us what you’re made of
You may be doing this climb to test yourself, to compete against rival departments or even to see if you can make it…
Fire Department Challenge
Compete in the Firefighter Challenge! Your participation supports research, advocacy and education to study the effects of asthma, lung cancer and other lung diseases that disproportionately affect firefighters.
Teams of four or more firefighters will compete for the title of the fastest Fire Department. Firefighters climb in full gear (mask, boots, tank, etc.) excluding their ax. Firefighters can also climb in the Individual Firefighter Challenge for the title of the fastest firefighter.
Police Department Challenge
Teams from across the region compete to see who will be the fastest squad up the stairs.
"This climb is an awesome team builder. There is no better way to motivate and build camaraderie within your fire department while bringing attention to a very important cause."
Justin Reid, Minneapolis Fire Department
Over 235 Fire Fighters on 34 different Fire Departments from all over the Twin Cities, Greater Minnesota and surrounding states participated in the 2012 event raising over $74,000 in the Fight for Air! Not only is this a great training exercise and personal challenge, it is also a great way to build team camaraderie and join together in an effort to raise valuable funds and awareness for the American Lung Association. There are also Firefighter awards and an after party celebration. Everyone is timed using an electronic chip that is clipped on the bottom of your bunker pants or your boots.
Rules & Regulations
In the best interest of competition and to make this event as fair as possible, the following guidelines have been established. These categories are the mandatory requirements to qualify for awards. It is the intent of these guidelines to ensure fairness within the competition. These guidelines will be monitored on an honor system. If a complaint is filed with the Fight For Air Climb Director, it will be investigated. If it is deemed that an infraction has occurred, that competitor's time will be removed from the overall teams qualifying times. Any tools you may bring into the stairwell must make the journey up with you.
In order to qualify, the following guidelines must be adhered to:
1. TEAM - You must have a minimum of 4 members to compete as a team. There is no maximum number of team members. Members do not have to be from the same department. The top four times will be used when calculating team totals.
2. PPE - Must be structural firefighting gear adhering to NFPA 1971. Both coat and pants MUST have the liner in place. Failure to have a liner will result in disqualifying your time. Pants must also be worn. ¾ coats will be permissible.
3. BOOTS - All boots must be structural firefighting boots. Rubber, leather, & lace up boots will be permitted, provided they are fire rated. NO station boots will be permitted when qualifying for the trophy. Again, boots must be structural firefighting boots.
4. GLOVES - Gloves will be optional. They do not directly affect the outcome of the race
5. HELMET & HOOD - Helmets are mandatory, hoods will be optional.
6. AIR TANK - An air tank must be worn the entire climb in order to qualify your time for awards. It is recommended that they be full, though this will not be policed. Bear in mind the spirit of the event is that no firefighter would make the climb with an empty bottle if a fire were at the top. Unfortunately, due to the various sizes, capacities, makes, and department standards there will be no official size or weight set for the air tank. Therefore the only requirement is that one be worn for the entire climb.
7. MASK - Masks are optional. Time will be counted whether you are on air or not.
8. UNDERLAYERS - Optional but it is recommended that some sort of clothing be worn.
9. EMS - Any EMS team is more than welcome in the firefighting competition provided they meet the above requirements
These categories are the mandatory requirements to qualify for awards. It is the intent of these guidelines to ensure fairness within the competition. These guidelines will be monitored on an honor system. If a complaint is filed with the Fight For Air Climb Director, it will be investigated. If it is deemed that an infraction has occurred, that competitor's time will be removed from the overall teams qualifying times. Any tools you may bring into the stairwell must make the journey up with you.
"My father passed away from lung disease. The impact of lung disease hit home and inspired me to put more effort into raising funds. By asking my family and friends to donate, I raised over $5,000!"
Ken Bence, Golden Valley Fire Department & Top Individual Fundraiser 2012
