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Four members of the Mt. Baldy Volunteer Fire Department, Station 200, are taking on a different type of challenge. Fire Chief Graham Hendrickson, Captain Dan Glick, Firefighter Christian Klein, and Firefighter Blake Hendrickson will be participating in the 24th Annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb on March 8 in Seattle, Wa.

The Scott Firefighter Stairclimb is hosted by the Columbia Center Tower and is an opportunity for almost two thousand firefighters from all over the world to test themselves on the 69-flight event course in support of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Volunteer Fire Chief Graham Hendrickson first became involved in 2013 when he was asked to fill in for a member of the San Bernardino City Fire team. The following year he formed a team with three other members of his department when they expressed interest. Since 2013 the Station 200 team has raised over four thousand dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Wearing up to 50 pounds of gear including helmet, fireproof coat and pants, breathing apparatus and air tanks used to fight fires, these firefighters will climb The Columbia Tower all the way up to the observation deck. Participants conquer 1,311 steps and 788 feet of vertical elevation to reach the top, beat their personal best, and fulfill the motto: Climb. Conquer. Cure.

The Scott Firefighter Stairclimb has raised close to $10 million dollars since its inception, funds that have helped in treating patients with blood cancers.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The organization funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services to patients and their families. Survival rates for many patients have doubled or tripled, and in some cases quadrupled, since the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was founded in 1949.

To learn more about the team or to make a donation, visit their team page at http://www.llswa.org/site/TR/Events/FirefighterStairclimb?team_id=58297&pg=team&fr_id=1453.