website image – 2023-02-08T094702.821

Fire crews raise £3.7K with December Ascenders

Crews from right across the UK took on impressive ladder climbs in aid of us throughout December and January.

They’re trained to climb ladders at speed, and fire crews across the UK put that training to the test in our December Ascender challenge, which ran through December and January – with some fantastic results.

Teams of up to 10 came together to climb one 13.5m ladder as many times as they could in one hour, while raising funds for us – with the final national total hitting £3,744.

For the third year in a row, Paisley Fire Station in Scotland came out top with 203 climbs – the equivalent of 2,470m. Meanwhile, Bentham Fire Station in North Yorkshire not only completed an impressive 156 climbs, but they raised the most of any UK fire station – with a total of £1,066.79.

Community Fundraiser Alex Byers said: “Despite the cold, rain and sleet, this fantastic team of seven from Bentham pulled out all the stops and raised an incredible amount for us. They have been offered an award in recognition of their fundraising efforts.

“A special thanks must also go to an anonymous donor, who supported the team with a donation having recently been helped by them. Every pound raised will make such a difference to the people that we support.”

Speaking of Paisley’s overall win, meanwhile, Community Fundraiser Lyndsay Campbell added: “We are incredibly grateful to the crew for taking on such a fantastic challenge to raise vital funds for us. Every pound they have raised will make such a difference to the people that we support.”

Derek Gotts, Managing Director of Supply Plus Ltd, which is the main sponsor of the challenge, said: “We are delighted to continue to sponsor the ascender challenge to raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity.

“The event is about teamwork, fitness, training and fun using a rescue ladder product which we, as a business, are proud the Fire and Rescue Service choose to utilise. The Fire Fighters Charity is a great cause doing fantastic work to support firefighters and their families in times of need.”

Here are just a couple of the many highlights, as well as quotes from those who took part:

“As I am sure any firefighter would agree, we are always willing to stand up to a challenge, so as a crew of 7 that is what we did.. It was a great team effort by all involved & more importantly we managed to raise some decent funds for the Charity.”

FF James Metcalf

“It’s a physical challenge, a competition, a bonding between our crew & it will get the local community behind us. But most importantly, it’ll raise funds for the Fire Fighter’s Charity. If you’re going to do something like a ladder climb, then why not do it for a worthy cause and make it really mean something.”

FF William Raeper

More Stories