Firefighter Stair Climbing Competition, Now in Its Third Year
The 'National Firefighters Stair Climbing Competition' was held at the LCT Landmark building in Haeundae, Busan. Participants must climb 2,372 stairs to the top of the 100-story building while wearing 20kg of firefighting equipment.
The competition took place on the afternoon of the 30th of last month at the Landmark building. This event, now in its third year, is linked to disaster response and training for supertall buildings, with 952 firefighters participating.
The Landmark building is a supertall skyscraper with a total of 100 floors and a height of 411 meters. It is the second tallest building in South Korea after Lotte World Tower. Firefighters participating in the competition must wear firefighting gear and protective clothing, carrying a total weight exceeding 20kg while climbing thousands of stairs.
The firefighter who reached the top the fastest in this competition was Firefighter Im Geon-yeop from the Myeonmok 119 Safety Center at Jungnang Fire Station in Seoul. He reached the top in 20 minutes and 25 seconds. Firefighter Im said, "Basic physical fitness is the most important for firefighters, so I managed my fitness by cycling regularly. Even during my recent honeymoon, I went out running early in the morning to prepare for this competition. I am grateful to my wife for her support."
He added, "Last year, I came in second place, just two minutes behind the first place. This year, I am really happy to have won first place, and I will continue to work hard to maintain my fitness."
The Firefighters Stair Climbing Competition was first held in 2021. It was established to improve the physical fitness required for firefighters in high-rise building disaster situations and to promote camaraderie among participants.
In actual situations, access to supertall buildings is restricted. The height that firefighting equipment such as aerial ladder trucks can reach is only about the 50th floor. If a disaster occurs above that height, firefighters must wear their gear and climb the stairs themselves.
How does this firefighter's record compare to that of civilians? The vertical marathon competition 'SkyRun' at Lotte World Tower, which has 123 floors and 2,917 stairs, attracted over 2,200 participants this year, including 1,500 in the competitive category and 800 in the non-competitive category. The all-time fastest record is 15 minutes and 37 seconds. The speed of marathon runners climbing stairs is almost the same as that of firefighters carrying 20kg oxygen tanks. This shows how remarkable the fitness and passion of firefighters are.
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