Firefighter to honour lost heroes

LOCAL firefighter Jarred Powell will be climbing Crown Metropol tomorrow in full turn out gear in honour of those impacted by September 11 2001 terrorist attacks.

The climb will be up 28 floors in firefighting equipment that weighs more than 25 kilograms.

He will be climbing on behalf of Fiona Corfield from CFA Sebastopol who has completed the climb nine times but cannot take part this year as she is pregnant.

Ms Corfield is the director of the 000 Foundation and organiser of the stair climb.

The pair are seeking for donations in support of the cause which will go towards Lifeline, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and the 000 Foundation.

The charities were chosen for the impact firefighting can have on mental health and the links to certain cancers.

“The mental health focus became apparent in the emergency services sector and the climb has predominantly raised funds for mental health charities,” said Ms Corfield.

“Firefighting related cancers are also a large topic of concern for the sector at the moment and we’ve had with a few succumb to that over the last few years.

“Those two causes are really close to our heart.”

The two primary beneficiaries, Lifeline and Peter McCallum will each get 40 per cent of raised funds, and the remaining 20 per cent will go to the 000 Foundation.

“The 000 Foundation’s evolved at the inception of the Stair Climb and we decided it had become a big thing and needed to be protected into the future,” said Ms Corfield.

“We are a charity in our own right and we also offer grants to emergency services personnel who might be experiences illness or hardship.”

The climb will be no easy feat, with the 28 floors totalling approximately 480 steps.

“The structural firefighting kit is in its own right really quite warm so it’s not just the weight factor,” said Ms Corfield.

“The idea of the stair climb came out of the September 11 twin tower terrorist attack so in that sense we also honour 343 from the New York Fire Department who perished in that incident.”

Mr Powell will be representing Andre Fletcher, a firefighter from New York who passed away in the September 11 20001 terrorist attacks aged 37.

He was scheduled for a day off on September 11 but worked due to a shortage of workers.

To make a donation visit bit.ly/3EeuZ4U.