Woodville firefighters gear up for challenge

From left: Sarah Hirst, Stephen Potter and Coral Smith are the Woodville volunteer firefighters taking part in the Sky Tower challenge next month.

It might sound a daunting task to climb up the Sky Tower, but a small team of volunteer firefighters from Woodville reckon they are more than up for it.

“It’s for fun, really,” says brigade team captain Sarah Hirst.

Teams of firefighters from around the country will be taking part in the Sky Tower Challenge next month, raising money for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ.

“It’s a pretty good charity,” Sarah said.

It’s the third year a team from Woodville is taking part in the challenge, with Stephen Potter taking part for the second time.

Coral Smith is doing the challenge for the first time, although last year she also did one for 9/11 and so knows what she will be dealing with.

The 9/11 climb is an annual event in memory of emergency service personnel and civilians who died in the terrorist attack in 2001 which destroyed the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Centre.

Sarah says the 9/11 climb was as much for those who died in the attack as it was to remember the 23 New Zealand firefighters who died in the line of duty, including one from Woodville.

One member of the team will be doing the challenge this year in honour of someone who has died from blood cancer.

Sarah will have pretty much her own cheering squad at the top in the form of her partner and baby daughter.

“It’s quite cool to be able to do something like that and have her there at the top with her dad. It’s a bit of an inspiration for her.”

The Sky Tower challenge involves climbing up 1103 steps, or 51 flights, with firefighters in full level two gear.

While the climbs are timed, Sarah says firefighters support each other, giving encouragement by saying: “You’ve got this.”

Training for the challenge has often involved the team doing a lot of bush walks, using a backpack weighing 25kg, or walking around town.

They’ve also had access to some stairs at Fonterra which has helped them build up their fitness.

Sarah, a third-generation firefighter, has been with the brigade for almost four and a half years.

She says she joined to follow in her family’s footsteps as well as to give back to the community.

“I want to show little girls that being a firefighter is pretty cool.”

The team is hoping to do some further fundraising with a barbecue and Cafe 88 is doing a jazz concert on Anzac Day.

Sarah says they also are considering holding a barbecue on May 4, which is International Firefighters’ Day.

Find their fundraising page here.