By Parker McKenzie and Tyler Wright
During the 2022 Melbourne Firefighter Star Climb on Saturday 10 September, Dandenong Ranges and foothills brigades helped raise over $500,000 for mental health services alongside Victorian, interstate and international emergency service personnel.
Five Kallista-The Patch members and 13 from Ferntree Gully took part in climbing the 28 floors of the Crown Metropol Hotel, with several others in supporting roles for the event, in 25kgs of gear alongside 600 emergency service personnel to fund research, improve support services, remove stigmas and raise awareness for Lifeline, Fortem and 000Foundation. Members of the Ferntree Gully CFA brigade raised $18,491, the most out of any brigade or station taking part, while Kallista-The Patch Fire Brigade raised almost $2,000, with the event raising $529,000 for charity.
Ferntree Gully CFA Captain Seamus Smith said helping fight depression, PTSI and suicide was a great cause.
“It’s no secret that emergency workers, especially across all emergency service providers, have attended traumatic scenarios,” he said.
“Especially with CFA volunteers you’re responding into your own community, which is usually full of family and friends.”
It was Kallista-The Patch Fire Brigade member Luke Tyler Maclean’s first time participating in the stair climb challenge in 2022.
“It’s good to be in a room with 600 other fireys, getting ready to climb up the stairs for a good cause,” Mr Maclean said.
“It’s good to get people from all walks of life that helping [mental health services] because we do a lot of talk about getting people to reduce the stigma and access mental health services, but often those services are pretty overwhelming… so anything that we can do to help them out is can only be a good thing.”
He said the issue of mental health is pertinent for emergency service personnel and residents of the Yarra Ranges.
“[There was] the big storm in June of last year, and then a couple of other major incidents, so just having those support services around for us, but also for the community is just so important,” Mr Maclean said.
“You can’t keep doing those sort of things over and over again, without knowing there’s a bit of a safety net if things go wrong.”
Since its inception, the event has raised more than $3 million for charitable causes like the Alfred Hospital Burns Unit, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Lifeline, Black Dog Institute, Emergency Services Foundation and 000 Foundation. In that time, Ferntree Gully CFA has raised close to $90,000.
Mr Smith said the brigade supplemented personal donations through its yearly battery collection drive for the Stair Climb.
“We appreciate all the support we’ve had from the community and from all the people donating their batteries and dropping them off,” he said.
“We’ve been picking them up and then donating, doing tin collections. It was a really super combined effort.”
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said it was great for emergency service personnel to come together in person to raise money for a great cause.
“We’re coming out of an incredibly tough few years which no doubt have taken their toll on people’s mental health in many ways, so it’s great to support these issues by finally coming together for some friendly competition and exercise,” Mr Heffernan said.
CFA brigades were joined by members from Fire Rescue Victoria, Forest Fire Management Vic, Victoria Police, South Australian Country Fire Service, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Fire and Rescue NSW, Queensland Fire and Emergency Service and Tasmania Fire Service, while Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Rescue Services joined virtually.
For more information about the Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb, visit firefighterclimb.org.au
