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Fitchburg: The firefighters to call if you're stuck in an office tower

Posted by Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel on March 22, 2011

odds & ends

Based on results from the Fight for Air Climb on Saturday, the best place to be trapped in an office tower is Fitchburg.

Firefighters from that Dane County department set the pace Saturday in the stair-climb sponsored by the American Lung Association in Wisconsin. Twenty-two firefighting and police teams competed in the event's third year.

Wearing full gear, the Fitchburg team climbed 47 floors, 1,034 steps, in an average time of 9 minutes, 25 seconds.

West Allis Fire Department Team #1 followed with an average time of 9:46, and Waukesha Team #1 took third with an average of 10:35.

Roger Hicks had the best time in the firefighting division; an 8:55 that helped the Fitchburg squad take the win.

Firefighters line up to take the stairs. Photo courtesy of the American Lung Association in Wisconsin.

If you just need someone to deliver a package to the 47th floor, then Alex Docta would be the pick. The 25-year-old from Milwaukee hit the top step in 5 minutes, 23 seconds, about 30 seconds ahead of Braden Renshaw.

For repeat trips, Kristin Frey set the standard among the 50 participants in the Ultimate Climb. In the one-hour time limit, Frey made six trips up and down. She also had the best time in the women's division, a 6:35, on her first trip.

Overall participation in the event hit 1,500, according to Dona Wininsky, a spokeswoman for the Lung Association. The participants raised $300,000, about $60,000 above the 2010 total.

A listing of the top contributors can be found here.

For a description of the climb, check out this Off the Couch post.