Carpinteria Summerland firefighters join thousands around the world in the Firefighter Stairclimb, raising money for leukemia and lymphoma research

CARPINTERIA, Calif. - Carpinteria Summerland firefighters participated in the 2020 Leukemia Lymphoma Society Firefighter Stairclimb on Saturday.

This 29th annual stairclimb was originally planned for March 8. During the event, over 2,000 firefighters from across the country and around the world were going to ascend the Columbia Center in Seattle, Washington in support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the in-person event was canceled. A virtual stairclimb, named the Big Virtual Climb, was instead scheduled for Saturday, June 13.

The virtual climb would replicate the original Salesforce Tower climb by requiring firefighters to climb the same number of steps. They calculated the Salesforce Tower to have 61 stories, meaning firefighters would need to climb 1,762 steps in order to complete the event.

Carpinteria Summerland firefighters completed every step on stair-climbing machines while wearing full gear and air.

They joined thousands of fire crews around the world in raising money to cure leukemia and lymphoma. In all, this event raised a mindblowing $20 million for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

In 2019, the Firefighter Stairclimb raised $2.9 million for blood cancer research and services.