What is the LLS Firefighter Stairclimb?
The LLS Firefighter Stairclimb is the world’s largest on-air stair climb competition,
exclusively for career, volunteer, and retired firefighters. Participants commit to raising
a minimum of $300 per person for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Renamed Blood
Cancer United, and ascend the Columbia Center in Seattle—69 flights,
1,356 steps, and 788 feet of vertical
elevation gain—all while wearing full gear and on-air.
This year marks our 35th anniversary, celebrating decades of grit, unity, and impact.
Since 1991, the event has raised over $28 million for blood cancer research,
patient support, and advocacy.
When and where is the event?
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2026
Location: Columbia Center, 701 5th Ave, Seattle, WA
Doors Open: 6:00 AM PT
Opening Ceremonies: 7:30 AM PT
First Battalion Starts: 8:00 AM PT
Final Battalion Starts: TBD
Why We Climb
In honor of our patients, survivors, and those we have lost...
Here are but two examples of why Firelighters climb and fund raise for
those of us with Blood Cancers.
Alan Lynn
I was 51 years old when I went to urgent care on Monday April 5, 2021, in my hometown
for a sore throat. I had just retired from law enforcement five days prior, on March 31, 2021,
and had been feeling sick since I retired. My wife at the time was undergoing ankle surgery
on that Monday, and to ensure I didn’t have COVID, I went to urgent care to protect her.
Little did I know what would unfold from that visit and how my life would be forever changed.
I was initially seen at urgent care but sent to the emergency room at the local hospital and
would spend the majority of my day undergoing tests and not knowing what was occurring.
Around 5:00pm the doctor came into my room and advised me that I had leukemia and
that I would be transported by ambulance to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU),
which was an hour and half away. I was in complete disbelief and would be for the next
few days.
Once at OHSU, I underwent multiple tests, to include a bone marrow biopsy and it
was confirmed that I had Acute Myeloid Leukemia with a FLT-3 mutation. I could no l
onger deny what was happening. I underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and
extended stays at OHSU over the next several months. To include an Allogeneic Bone
Marrow Transplant, with the ORCA study protocol, on June 23, 2021. I was blessed that
my two sisters, were both 100% matches for the transplant and my sister Diane Draper
was my donor.
I won’t say that 2021, or the years following have been easy, or didn’t present many
challenges. There was a lot of uncertainty, suffering, and challenges throughout it and to
this day. However, despite all of that, I feel blessed and thankful for going through what
I did and learned what is important in life.
I learned the importance of community and family. This is not a battle you can fight
on your own. My children and sisters, as well as their families were there every
step of the way. As were my former co-workers and my amazing medical team from OHSU,
led by Dr. Arpita Gandhi. All of them played a crucial role in me becoming a better
version of myself. Because of this, my bond with my children and sisters has never
been stronger.
Living this experience, forced me to look deep inside of myself and learn what was
truly important. Living to earn a paycheck, or build status, is not what life is. Living to
experience every second of your life fully and to truly find love for yourself and those
around you, is true happiness. Because of my experience I have found that. With that
being said, it is my responsibility and privilege to be an example of that and to show
others how to move forward with resiliency, courage and love.
Molly Quillin
I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on October 7, 2024, in the fall of my third
and final year of law school.
I remained enrolled in my classes, thanks to the support of
the University of Oregon School of Law, my friends, and my family. I began chemotherapy
in November 2024 and concluded chemo in February 2025.
I took my final exams
with a full chemo brain, a little extra time, and a prayer. I passed all of my classes that fall.
I continued to stay in school the following semester and began radiation in April 2025.
This treatment timeline does not and cannot fully describe the hard days I spent processing
a hefty diagnosis, the love I felt from my family and friends near and far, the delicious
(and now sickening) peppermints the nurses at the Willamette Valley Cancer Institute
gave me so I did not taste the nausea medicine, the kindness from my fellow patients
and nurses (and now friends) at WVCI, the difficulty of finishing law school while beating
cancer, and every emotion in between.
I cannot fully express into words my gratitude
for the love, support, time, and effort it took my friends, family, school, and WVCI to
hold me throughout the course of this long, winding road. Mary Oliver wrote, “
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” and I will tell you this –
I intend to live fuller, laugh longer, love louder, and breathe deeper in my cancer-free life.
Thank you for this immense honor. It is one I take seriously and cherish deeply.
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