“What were we thinking” is no doubt the question that will hit Dubbo firefighters as they pound the 98 storeys of Sydney Tower Eye on Saturday morning.
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Seven team members - carrying 20 kilos of protection gear - will push themselves to ascend the landmark’s 1504 stairs.
Their target time is 20 minutes.
The gruelling challenge is for the 2018 Firefighters Climb for Motor Neurone Disease.
The event raises money for research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a progressive, terminal neurological disease, for which there is no known treatment or cure.
The ‘Dubbo Fireys Climb for MND - What were we thinking’ teammates are some of almost 600 members of Fire & Rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service taking part.
- READ MORE: Firies warm up for 1504-stair challenge
Dubbo firefighter Joe Bacon said the team was ready to go after months of training, with daily sessions on the stair machine.
“I think it’s going to be the longest 20 minutes of my life,” he said.
Firefighter Brett Ridley, who is taking on the climb for a second year, says the training has been “fairly intense”.
“Five-kilometre runs in our gear and smashing the stair machine at Snap Fitness Dubbo in full kit,” he said.
During the climb to the Sydney Eye Tower’s observation deck, firefighters will encounter a vertical rise of 820 feet.
Each floor of the stairwell is dedicated to patients of MND both past and present.
Details of how to donate can be found on the Dubbo team’s Facebook page.