A line of fully-equipped firefighters trudged their way along the challenging Mt. Hope Lookout Trail. They were not charging toward a wildfire on March 14, but they did face a different challenge entirely.
Six members of the Hope Fire Department climbed to the Hope Lookout in at least 50 pounds of firefighting gear to raise more than $2,400 for the B.C. Lung Association.
The provincial annual event would normally take place in Vancouver at the Sheraton Wall Centre in which firefighters from across B.C. climb 48 flights of stairs – or roughly 750 steps – in full firefighting gear all to raise awareness and funds to combat lung diseases. The pandemic meant the event had to go virtual this year with the Hope Fire Department electing to climb the Mt. Hope Lookout Trail.
Six Hope firefighters made up the 2021 team: team captain Rebecca Arrowsmith, Jenn Cook, Monica Cummins, Branden Stewart, Nolan Lothian and Joshua Westcott. Mark Duncan would’ve been the seventh member of the team but he moved away from the Hope area. Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy is heavily involved in the B.C. Lung Association as well, serving as vice chair.
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“Great job by the (Climb the Wall) team climbing the Hope Lookout,” the HFD wrote in a Facebook post after the climb. “Thanks to all who donated and helped us raise over $2,400 for the B.C. Lung Association.”
Based in Vancouver and in operation for more than a century, members of the B.C. Lung Association dedicates themselves to helping the one in five British Columbians affected by lung conditions.
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