The Kaikohe Volunteer Fire Brigade has entered a team for the Sky Tower Stair Challenge for the first time this year, which will see them run up the tower's 1103 steps weighed down with 25kg of firefighting gear.
All proceeds from the annual event, which last year raised $915,000, go
to Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand.
Northland firefighters have an impressive history in the challenge, but the Kaikohe volunteers will be newbies in the gruelling 51-storey race. Team captain Brendon Mayall said his crew of six were training hard for the May 23 event, however, walking around town in weight vests, climbing Te Ahuahu hill, and running up and down a flight of 82 steps near Opua wharf.
The other half of the challenge is to raise as much money as possible for the cause. To that end the volunteers were planning a series of raffles and Trade Me auctions of a Warriors shirt and a helicopter trip to Motukokako/Hole in the Rock, and had placed donation buckets around Kaikohe. The brigade would also host a quiz at the fire station on March 14.
The other team members are Clint Lyall, Steve Peers, Aaron Nepia, and siblings Lara and JJ Hastings. They each aim to raise $1000.
