Chowchilla fire chief to climb for charity

Chowchilla Women’s Facility and Valley State Prison Fire Chief Peter Sotello will participate in the 28th annual Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Stair Climb March 10, climbing 69 flights, totaling 1,356 steps and 788 feet in vertical elevation on the air in full turnout gear to raise funds to fight cancer.

The stair climb will take place in Seattle.

Sotello is the fire chief at the California Women’s Facility/Valley State Prison in Chowchilla. You can learn more about Climb. Conquer. Cure. at www.firefighterstairclimb.org.

The LLS Firefighter Stair Climb is the world’s largest on-air stair climb competition, and annual fundraiser held at the tallest building in Seattle, the Columbia Center. All 2,000 participants are career or volunteer firefighters who will climb up the second-tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi in full turnout gear, weighing over 50 pounds, while on-air.

Chief Sotello is raising funds to support finding a cure for leukemia and lymphoma. If you would like to help him achieve his personal fundraising goal, but more importantly to benefit patients and their families everywhere, visit his personal page on the LLS Firefighter Stairclimb website: https://bit.ly/2Skzx4n. You can make a donation online directly from his page.

Sotello said that “throughout the 69 flights of stairs, 1,356 steps, and 788 ft. of vertical elevation gain, we all remember that every step forward is representative of moving closer to a cure. Although this is an extreme test of physical endurance, it pales in comparison to what blood cancer patients endure.”

If you wish to make a donation by mail, all checks can be sent to: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Attn: LLS Firefighter Stairclimb; 5601 6th Ave South, Suite 182; Seattle, WA 98108. Include a note listing Peter Sotello of the California Women’s Facility/Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, CA in support of the LLS Firefighter Stairclimb. To make a gift by phone, call: (206) 628-0777.

All proceeds raised directly benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and since its inception in 1991, this event has raised more than $17 million thus far.