By Callum Ludwig
Hillcrest CFA has once again joined the brigade of Upper Yarra firefighters who are set to tackle the ninth annual Melbourne Firefighters Stair Climb.
The event is on Saturday 10 September 2022 and 600 Firefighters and other Emergency Service Personnel are set to climb the 28 floors of Crown Metropol Hotel wearing 25kgs of turnout gear and breathing apparatus.
Member Rochelle Poulton, who is set to take on her fifth climb, said every year they have more and more members willing to participate.
“They all hear how good of an experience it is, and this year we have five members participating. The last few years have been done virtually, which isn’t great, but it was Covid times and now we are definitely excited,” she said.
“We’re doing it in person again this year and it’s definitely a great accomplishment and feeling that you get within yourself. We’re doing it together, for each other, and with each other.”
Ms Poulton will be joined by Andrew Smith, Vicki White, Yiota Carabourniotis and Paul Scott.
Ms Poulton said everyone is stoked about getting back to doing it in person.
“It’s really hard to stay motivated with doing it virtually, especially when we had kilometre radius attached to us because there’s not really a whole lot of stairs down our way,” she said.
“In person again, it’s just the atmosphere with everyone lining up, it’s just an awesome feeling, seeing everyone to go off, and when you actually get to the top and you run through the banner, it’s just a very good feeling.”
Over the last five years, Hillcrest has raised over $8505 towards the cause, which has supported organisations like the Alfred Hospital’s Burns Unit, The Black Dog Institute, Lifeline, Fortem Australia and The Triple 000 Foundation. They hope to reach $10,000 this year.
Ms Poulton said they are doing it for the cause and supporting those in emergency services.
“Especially now more than ever, everyone has realised that mental health is important over the last few years. It’s time that instead of just taking care of everyone else when we volunteer, we should also start taking care of ourselves,” she said.
“The stair climb is challenging, especially when you get to the halfway mark because you’re so close but you’re still so far. But it’s a really good reminder that even though that was hard, It’s nowhere near as hard as what people who suffer from mental health problems will be going through.”
The Hillcrest Brigade has so far raised $1065 this year for the MFSC, and those who wish to contribute to their efforts can do so here: www.firefighterclimb.org.au/donations/donate/cfa/hillcrest/
