Firefighter to ascend sixth Seattle skyscraper climb for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

FREDERICKTOWN – Joining 1500 firefighters from around the world, Lieutenant Firefighter Jason Bostic of the Fredericktown Community Fire District will participate in the 21st annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

On Sunday, March 11, 2012 he will compete in the timed race up 69 floors to the top of the Columbia Center tower in Seattle, WA. The building at 788 feet of vertical elevation stands as the second tallest building west of the Mississippi and will take firefighters 1311 steps to reach the top. Firefighters will race to the top wearing full combat gear and a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) weighing an average of 70 pounds.

In preparation, Bostic has been using a specific workout regimen geared to build strength, and cardiorespiratory endurance that is similar to what he has utilized since first attending the event. Utilizing the equipment at the facilities of Urban Active Fitness in Westerville, he is already seven weeks into the training. After working with fitness trainers and firefighters who have competed in the event Bostic has lost a total of 75 pounds and maintained weight while continuing to beat his personal time. In addition to training, he will utilize a firefighter stair climb in Cincinnati and Columbus in the weeks prior to help prepare.

This will be the sixth time he has competed in the event, and has raised over $9000 in the first five years participating. For this climb, Bostic has set a goal of $2500.00 and is striving to break under the thirty-minute mark. In his March 2011 ascent he had a finish time of 30:14 and raised $1675.00

Bostic’s motivation for participating in the event was his mother Peggy’s illness of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia that nearly took her life in 1986. Her long battle with CML continued to slowly kill her until she received a bone marrow transplant in 1990. The unmatched, unrelated bone marrow transplant was the first of its kind at The Ohio State University Medical Center and was before the James Cancer Institute came to fruition. Without fundraisers and funding for research, her life may not have been saved. She has been in remission since 1993 and continues to live a healthy life.

Recognized as the world’s largest individual firefighting competition in the world, the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb is sponsored by Scott Health & Safety and attracts Firefighters to Seattle from as far away as Newfoundland, New Zealand, and Germany. In 2011, over 1500 firefighters representing over 281 departments from around the world competed in the Seattle climb that raised a record $930,000 for the Society. He continues to be the only firefighter representing the State of Ohio.

For more information about his climb and to donate you can visit his LLS donation website at http://www.llswa.org/goto/fcfd2012

Thank you, and yes out of 281 departments the only one from Ohio. I run this with firefighters from all over the world and have met some amazing people the last six years in doing this.

I am very near breaking through my $10,000 mark for the money that i have raised over the last five climbs. In my sixth I want to hit that milestone.

I should point out before someone asks, that the fundraisers that I am doing are NOT to pay for the logistical costs, travel, lodging, etc, the fundraisers are going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The costs of my travels and registration are covered out of pocket.

Thanks Rhomp, I was hoping to get this stickied or on the front page. I have a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser on January 21 from 5:00pm-7:30pm at the OLD Fredericktown High School, 117 Columbus Road in Fredericktown. Dinner is $5.00 with ALL proceeds going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through the Stair Climb. I'm trying to hit $2500.00 raised this year and have a LONG way to go.

I forgot to hop back on here. With the new job, training, a two-year-old, and planning for the trip I forgot to bump. I have enough for about 200 people and hoping to sell out of every last drop of it. Spaghetti, garlic bread, dessert and a drink.

I'll have a few videos and slideshows running from the events so you can see what its like. Trying to locate the one with helmet cam. Come check it out! Why cook on a cold wintry evening. Come out and support a great cause!

Thank you to everyone that tuned in on 1300 WMVO on Friday to hear more about the Firefighter Stair Climb!