East Pierce Firefighters Conquer 69 Flights of Columbia Tower

East Pierce firefighters joined hundreds of fire departments from around the world in conquering all 69 flights and 1,311 steps of the Columbia Tower on Sunday as part of the Scott's Firefighter Challenge.

The annual event requires participants to tackle the grueling climb in full firefighting gear and supports the mission of The Leukemia &  Lymphoma Society, raising money through sponsorships, individual and department fund-raising, and entry fees.

East Pierce Fire & Rescue’s top finisher was Mike McGinnis, with a time of 18:25—or an average of 17 seconds per flight. McGinnis, 40, finished 388th out of a total of 1,473 participants.

Andrew Drobeck of Missoula (MT) City Fire placed first, finishing the tower in 10:48, or 10 seconds a flight average. The top female finisher was Georgia Sanz Daniels of Graham Fire & Rescue, with a time of 14:22, or 13 seconds per flight.

Click here for the full results.

Other East Pierce firefighters:

Rank

Name

Age

Time

388

Mike McGinnis

40

18:25