For Immediate Release

Friday, Feb. 8, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Gloucester Firefighters to Participate in Fight for Air Climb

GLOUCESTER — Chief Eric Smith is pleased to announce that members of the Gloucester Fire Department will participate in the annual Fight for Air Climb this March to raise funds for the American Lung Association (ALA).

WHEN:

March 30, at 8 a.m.

WHERE: 

One Boston Place, 201 Washington St., Boston

WHAT:

The Fight for Air Climb is a signature fundraiser event of the ALA, and climbs are held annually in skyscrapers across the United States. Participants climb their way up hundreds of stairs with the goal of raising money to support the ALA’s lung health research, patient education, and public policy efforts.

It is the eighth year members of the Gloucester Fire Department have come together to take part in the Boston Fight for Air Climb. This March, nine current members of the department and one retired member will join hundreds of local firefighters as they climb a looming Boston skyscraper with 41 floors and 789 stairs. The Gloucester Fire Department Team has a goal to raise $2,000 for the ALA this year.

The Gloucester Fire Department Fight for Air Team includes Lt. Chad Mota, Firefighter Jak Letien, Firefighter Nick Aiello, Firefighter Charlie Scola, Retired Assistant Chief Tom Aiello, Captain Jim Burke, Firefighter Tom Aldrich, EMS Coordinator Jon Sanger, Firefighter Jon Dyer, and Firefighter Jim Hannon.

“The fundraiser is near and dear to us because so many firefighters suffer from lung cancer, and lung disease from occupational exposure,” Lt. Chad Mota said.

Mota said in addition to the team’s goal of raising $2,000 for the climb, they also hope to be one of the top three firefighter teams with a combined climbing time. According to Mota, the group has been training for months in advance of the coming climb.

“The climb is tough,” he said. “The air is dry in the stairwell, and by the end of the climb your legs feel like rubber.”

According to the American Lung Association’s website, in 2018, there were 44 Fight for Air Climbs held across the United States, raising more than $7.4 million.

To donate to the Fight for Air Climb on behalf of the Gloucester Fire Department’s team, visit action.lung.org/site/TR/Climb/ALANE_Northeast?team_id=146412&pg=team&fr_id=17825.

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