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| Team Cherry Hill Fire |
On Saturday, March 19, 2011 Cherry Hill Firefighters, Cherry Hill EMS Personnel and a twelve year old son of a firefighter set out to climb and conquer the American Lung Associations Fight For Air Climb. The stair climb takes place at Three Logan Square in Center City, Philadelphia and consists of competitors climbing 50 floors and 1088 steps. This is the third year that Cherry Hill Fire Department has competed in the annual stair climb. The climb raises money and awareness for the fight against lung disease. This year the Cherry Hill Fire Department team consisted of 15 firefighters, 2 EMTs and 1 firefighter's son. The team set a fundraising goal of $2500 this year but managed to raise $3,047 with the largest fund raising efforts coming from one of its smallest teammates. Twelve year old Sean Ball, son of FF Brian Ball, raised $525 alone and completed the climb in an impressive 10 minutes 24 seconds.
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| Fit for the climb |
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| Stretching before the First Responder Challenge in plain clothes |
Eight of the firefighters first competed in an all out team race with other firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical technicians during the First Responders' Challenge. This climb was completed in t-shirts, shorts and sneakers. A 4th place and 6th place finish were the outcomes of the 2 - four man Cherry Hill teams. After a short break these eight competitors returned to the 1st floor, joined the rest of the team and geared up in full firefighting PPE (coat, bunker pants, boots, helmets and SCBA pack) to climb the tower a second time. Firefighter Phil Cook (Engine 22) and Captain Timothy McGeady (Ladder 44) both added an extra edge of difficulty by carrying a 2 1/2" Hose pack up the 50 flights of stairs. The last hose pack was shared amongst a group of firefighters who passed it off every 5 floors. All in all it was a successful day for the American Lung Association and a proud showing by all the members and family of the Cherry Hill Fire Department who participated or supported the team.
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| Father & Son Team |
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A firefighter in full PPE w/ SCBA and a hose pack is
carrying roughly an additional 80 - 90 lbs |
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| Solid showing from Ladder 4 |
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| The helmets of every company represented in the climb |
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| The view from the top! |
