Renton firefighters climb tower in memory of former chief

So far, Renton firefighters have raised more than $23,000 for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Nineteen members of the Renton Fire Department made the trek up the Columbia Center’s 1,311 steps on Sunday to help raise money for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

So far, Renton firefighters have raised more than $23,000 to fight the disease.

This year, like last year, the department’s team climbed the stairs in honor of retired Deputy Chief Art Larson, who lost his battle with the disease in January 2013. Larson served with the department for 33 years before retiring in 2006.

All of the department’s members completed the climb, which totals  69 stories and 788 vertical feet.

Renton’s top finisher was Josh Brown, who completed the climb in 14:44 minutes to finish 48th out of 1,653 climbers.