Pierce County Firefighter Places 2nd In NYC Stair Climb

PUYALLUP, WA - A local firefighter finished second in the annual New York City Firefighters Stair Climb, where firefighters from around the U.S. climb 72 stories up the 4 World Trade Center building at Ground Zero.

Graham Fire's Jasper Stenstrom actually completed the climb twice on Sunday. He finished the race in 15 minutes and one second.

Many cities across the U.S. host annual stair climbs to raise money for charity. The Seattle stair climb happened last weekend at the Columbia Center. But the New York City climb is a bit different - the organizers allow only 343 climbers to participate, and each one climbs in memory of a firefighter who died on Sept. 11 2001.

Stenstrom climbed in memory of FDNY firefighter Eric Allen of Squad 18. Allen died on Sept. 11, 2001, and worked out of a firehouse located in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood, just a few blocks north of Ground Zero.

Stenstrom is a prolific stair climb competitor. He joined the International Association of Firefighters Local 2819 stair climb team four years ago, and has climbed in memory of Tom Kenyon, a firefighter who died in 1997 of leukemia, and for a friend's child, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 6. He's raised over $40,000 for cancer research across his stair climbs.

Image via Pierce County IAFF 726