NEW YORK (AP) - About 500 people dashed up the steps of a New York City skyscraper to raise $200,000 for the American Lung Association of the Northeast.
The climbers Saturday included more than a dozen teams of firefighters in full bunker gear.
Participants in the 4th Annual Fight for Air Climb ascended 55 stories at One Penn Plaza, adjacent to Madison Square Garden.
That’s a climb of 1,210 steps.
Fire Department Lt. Denis Sweeney was among the competitors.
He says climbs like this one have special meaning because of the members of the department who died in the stairwells of the World Trade Center.
Sweeney says, “You try to dig deep and represent them as best you can.”
Many firefighters exposed to toxic dust at ground zero now suffer from respiratory problems.
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