RACE FOR LIFE: Porirua firefighter Paul Setefano raised over $2000 for the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation to race up Auckland’s Sky tower.
Local volunteer firefighter Paul Setefano has achieved the second highest individual fundraiser for the 2011 Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge, held on May 21.
In the challenge, firefighters race up 51 flights – 1103 Sky Tower steps – wearing full firefighting kit and breathing apparatus weighing up to 25kg.
It is a fundraising event for the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation.
Mr setefano, who was the only firefighter to participate from the Porirua Station, raised over $2000 for the charity.
He tributed his run up Auckland’s Sky Tower’s 51 floors to Kurt Filiga – a 20 year old Wellington Film maker who died in September last year from leukaemia.
Mr Setefano says he was surprised to receive the award.
“I’m happy for the charity. I am quite humbled. All I was was a medium for people to give to charity,” he says.
“I started really feeling it on about the 15th or 16th floor. So it started taking its toll by then, and I ran out of air [in the cylinder] before the top – you just take the mask off and carry on climbing.”
Next years event may be far off, but Mr Setefano says training could begin again soon.
“As long as I’m able to climb I’m going to keep doing this – raising money for the charity, and challenge other people to raise more.”
-Dani McDonald Porirua News
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