Here’s the drill. Don 50 pounds of gear: boots, pants, coat, helmet, air tank and mask. Climb 69 flights of stairs, with 1,311 steps and 788 feet of vertical elevation.

Finish. Rest. Maybe toss your cookies?

“You see a fair amount of that,” John De Lanoy said.

Still, he points out, it’s nothing compared to what blood cancer patients go through. That’s why he and 17 other members of the Bainbridge Island Fire Department will once again climb the steps of the Columbia Center next Sunday, to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

De Lanoy, a volunteer firefighter and this year’s BIFD team captain, has done the climb four years running in memory of his father, himself a long-time volunteer firefighter who was diagnosed with sickle-cell leukemia in 2001. Last year, the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb drew departments from around the country and as far away as New Zealand, bringing in a record $530,000 for blood-cancer research and patient services.

And there is a genuine payoff, De Lanoy said. His father, who later died of unrelated causes, was completely cured of leukemia after undergoing treatment that began on Sept. 11, 2001. Doctors told him that 10 years earlier, he probably wouldn’t have survived the cancer.

“Had he been diagnosed with it on 9/11, 1991, he would have likely died,” De Lanoy said. “So it’s quite amazing to me. They went from a death sentence to a guarantee of a cure.”

While the event holds personal significance for De Lanoy, he points to a broader benefit for the entire BIFD.

Because the climb is a strenuous competition in full gear that imitates a real firefighting experience, it’s worthwhile preparation for true emergencies.

In fact, De Lanoy said that following a national initiative, the BIFD in fall 2008 established a health and wellness program to encourage overall fitness in its members.

“We’re making this stairclimb a part of that,” he said. “Not only are we raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, not only are we doing this as a one-day event. People are getting in shape for this because they need to be better firefighters.”

Fire Chief Hank Teran and Fire Marshal Jared Moravec even signed on to participate in the climb, Teran prepping for competition in a newly formed captains’ competition. Although he subsequently had to bow out in anticipation of traveling to the birth of his grandchild in Arizona, it doesn’t detract from De Lanoy’s conviction that he’s is leading by example to encourage an increased level of fitness on the part of all the department’s full-time and volunteer members. Some are even working out together.

“Maybe they’re not training for the stair climb, but they’re all training to get in shape,” De Lanoy said. “There’s a newfound focus on health and wellness. This time last year, the number of guys who worked out, I could count on one hand.”

So suddenly, 788 feet of hell is worth it, for a fit department, a worthwhile cause, and a building sense of solidarity.

“The thing that’s really amazing to me about it is that you have 1,500 firefighters...and there’s this real sense of brotherhood,” De Lanoy said. “Yeah, there’s competition, but you’ve got 1,500 brothers and sisters there.”

To sponsor a firefighter for the March 8 Scott Firefighter Stairclimb, see www.firefighterstairclimb.org.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.