1,034 Steps: Waukesha Firefighters to Compete in Fight for Air Climb

Step after step. Flight after flight.  It is a fight to be the fastest group to climb the nearly four-dozen stories of the US Bank Center in downtown Milwaukee.

As if running up 1,034 stairs isn’t hard enough, members of the are completing the climb with a full set of turnout gear that weighs about 45 pounds on March 19 as an off-duty fundraiser for the American Lung Association.

Two teams of five firefighters from Waukesha are participating in the 2011 Fight for Air Climb.

“Everybody climbs all 47 stories,” said firefighter/paramedic Pat Rettler, who is organizing the climb for the Waukesha firefighters. “Everybody is timed individually, and then they average the times to create a team average.”

The teams are competing for a traveling trophy. Firefighters from the Waukesha Fire Department participated in the challenge for the first time last year but came up empty handed. The last two years the traveling trophy has gone home with the West Allis Fire Department.

“So we are looking to dethrone them,” joked firefighter/paramedic Dennis Graff, who will join Rettler this year.

The competition is grueling, Rettler said, with water and aid stations in the stairwells to assist the climbers. But with 47 flights of stairs to climb, it seemed like an almost-impossible task after the first dozen flight of stairs when Rettler competed last year.

“I thought that was the end of it for me,” said Rettler, who didn't give up and ultimately finished the climb.

The event isn’t just about who is the fastest and the strongest. The Fight for Air Climb is also a fundraiser for the American Lung Association to help fight lung disease through education, community service, advocacy and research, according to the organization. Firefighters compete with the gear but the general public competes on a different set of stairs.

Lung disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Lung Association.

The Waukesha firefighters are still in the process of collecting sponsors for the off-duty event and are taking the donations through this link American Lung Association’s website. 

 And lung disease is a familiar issue for the Waukesha firefighters.

 “One of the most common requests for an EMS is a breathing call,” Rettler said. “We deal with it on a daily basis.”