By Callum Ludwig
Brigades in the Yarra Valley have completed another successful fundraising effort for the Melbourne Firefighters Stair Climb (MFSC).
Held on 2 September, the annual event involves firefighters from across the state and beyond descending on Crown Metropol before ascending its 28 flights of stairs in 25kg of turnout gear for charity.
Wesburn/Millgrove CFA’s Tony Lewis is a regular participant and said it was an absolutely fantastic morning.
“We were there with several hundred other firefighters from across Victoria and we also had some firies all the way from New Zealand and everyone did a fantastic job,” he said.
“Everyone trained and also fundraised very hard this year, hence why we achieved what we have to this point in time, the stair climb as a whole has raised $638,030 so far this year.”
Mr Lewis led training at the lookout tower on Mt Donna Buang for a number of the event’s competitors from the Wesburn/Millgrove and Warburton CFAs in preparation for the event.
Mr Lewis said the two brigades raised $8842 combined.
“It’s great to be able to raise the additional funds to support the beneficiaries, being Lifeline, the Peter McCallum Cancer Foundation and the Triple O Foundation, especially given that we have some firefighters with mental health issues and cancer concerns,” he said.
“But it’s also extremely important because it benefits the community across the nation, it’s not only the firies, we normally support the communities directly around our brigades, this gives us the opportunity to be able to reach out and have an impact nationally.”
The Yarra Valley Group of fire brigades has raised $18,849 at this year’s event, with Hillcrest CFA ($5117) and Seville CFA ($4890) also featuring among some of the best fundraising efforts by stations. Among individual firefighters, Mr Lewis ($2010) and Hillcrest CFA’s Rochelle Poulton ($1889, bolstered by her annual battery collection efforts) are named as in the top fundraising firies this year.
Mr Lewis said he was extremely proud of everyone.
“The times for the Wesburn/Millgrove brigade and the Warburton brigade ranged from 5 minutes and seven seconds up to 11 minutes and 50 seconds which is a pretty good effort in full gear,” he said.
“I want to thank our families, friends and community for their support with this year’s Melbourne Firefighters Stair climb.”
