KPFD Completes Annual Stair Climb to Fight Cancer

A seven-person team of career and volunteer crew from Key Peninsula Fire District 16 completed the 34th annual Leukemia and Lymphoma Society firefighter Columbia Tower stair climb challenge in Seattle March 9.

Two thousand firefighters from around the world climbed the Columbia Center in full turnout gear, including gloves, boots, helmets and facemasks, while breathing the air from tanks strapped to their backs. The Seattle climb is the world’s largest on-air contest, routinely selling out to participants raising funds to find cures for leukemia and lymphoma, according to the LLS.

“You go in your firefighting gear so everyone can see how hard that is,” said KPFD Public Information Officer Anne Nesbit. “It’s about 75 pounds all told. It’s supposed to be hard, like what cancer survivors endure. That’s what it’s all about.”

The climb includes 69 flights, 1,356 steps, and a 788-foot elevation gain to reach the Sky View Observatory on the 73rd floor.

Firefighter/Paramedic River Lance, age 26, led the team by finishing the climb at 19:43.7, placing 371 out of 1,906 competitors who completed the climb.

Volunteer FF Matt Fields, 34, came in second on the team at 22:58.8, ranking 678.

Volunteer FF/EMT Garrett Cranford, 25, finished third at 23:47.4, ranking 730.

FF/PM Lt. Adam Morse, 36, finished at 26:32.5, ranking 735.

FF/EMT Amy Shipp, 43, finished at 29.06.3, ranking 1,090. Shipp first competed as a volunteer in 2020; the 2025 climb was her third as a professional.

FF/EMT Mak Kesar, 41, finished at 30:58.3, ranking 1,167.

Volunteer FF/EMT Ian Rogers, 31, finished at 31:21.8, ranking 1,176.

Each firefighter must raise a minimum of $300 in donations to participate. At press time, the KPFD team had raised $5,012, with more to come, according to Nesbit. The 2025 event raised $2,053,872 of its $3 million goal by race time. Firefighters have raised over $20 million since the first LLS stair climb in 1991.