Firefighters battle heat and gravity in a race to the top of Auckland’s Sky Tower

There are easier ways to get to the Sky Tower observation deck, but on Saturday morning hundreds of firefighters scrambled up the stairs in a rush to the top.

Making it more difficult for the competitors was the stipulation that they had to make the ascent of 1103 steps dressed in 25 kilograms of equipment and with a breathing apparatus on their face.

Fastest of all was Josh Harrison, who won the annual event for the 10th time in a row. He climbed all 52 flights of stairs in just eight minutes and 17 seconds.

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Harrison was disappointed not to have broken his record, he missed the mark by six seconds, but event organizer Tony Scott said the 10-time champion had a very good excuse.

“She had a baby on Wednesday and has been babysitting every night since then so she can’t be too disappointed,” Scott said.

Harrison also announced it would be his last race, so someone else could get a title shot next year.

Just because there was no fire did not mean there was no heat. The event had to be postponed from its usual cool fall date in May. Instead, it ran on a humid 22 degree spring day in Auckland.

“It was pretty intense, it was a lot hotter than it usually is,” said firefighter Tom Hopkins, who won the rural category running through the field with a chainsaw on his back.

“It’s usually raining outside so we didn’t even get the cooling effect of that.”

That it was carried out is somewhat surprising, as it was the only fire ladder challenge in the world that could be carried out this year.

Most countries have not been able to organize their events due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That meant a smaller field of just 420, compared to the 1,000+ competitors who usually travel here to try and take Harrison down.

But Scott said he was more than satisfied with the $ 800,000 they managed to raise.

While it was less than the $ 1.4 million they raised last year, Scott said it was a tremendous effort with less than half the number of participants they usually have.

“It’s fantastic, it went really well,” Scott said. “It was the last possible day that we could have done it because we have to start going with next year’s event in two weeks.”

Scott said Harrison’s retirement was a loss, but now someone else might have a chance.

It is all in the name of a good cause as the funds raised go to Leukemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand.

On the same day as the Sky Tower Stair Challenge, Northland firefighter Simon Trye set a new world record by running a half marathon in full gear.