Whanganui firefighters to take the stairs for charity as part of the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge 2022

Whanganui volunteer firefighters Aaron Whitford and Triona Cooney will be taking on the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge on Saturday. Photo / Bevan Conley

Two Whanganui firefighters will trudge up the 51 flights of stairs at Auckland's Sky Tower this weekend in full gear.

The Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge, in its 18th year, is being done to raise money for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBCNZ).

It will take place this Saturday and is expected to have 900 firefighters attempt the challenge, 20 of whom are from overseas.

Walkers will wear 25kg of firefighters gear.

Whanganui volunteer rural firefighters Aaron Whitford and Triona Cooney will be there.

Whitford is a veteran of the event, having taken part eight or nine times - he said he's lost count at this point - but he said he keeps coming back because it's a good bit of fun and a way to help out the community.

"That's the whole point of being a firefighter, being there for the community, so it's another way of helping the community out, especially those families who are suffering with someone with leukaemia or blood cancer," he said.

In contrast, it is Cooney's first attempt at the challenge, but she's far from a novice when it comes to fitness challenges.

She got put on to the challenge thanks to Whitford and, like him, is doing it to help out the community.

As well as this she said she was a lover of fitness, having had a kickboxing fight last week and will be taking part in the 9/11 stair climb this September, where firefighters climb or walk the equivalent of the 110 storeys of the World Trade Centre.

Cooney said as well as her kickboxing training and using the stairs at her gym, she had been walking up and down the Durie Hill Steps for the past four months to prepare for the challenge.

"Most of the community has probably seen me go up and down those stairs every lunch break," she said.

Whitford said he had not done as much preparation this year as he would have liked to do but being so experienced meant he would wing it this year.

"I know what I'm in for."

Both were feeling confident ahead of Saturday with Cooney saying she was hoping to place well in the challenge.

"I'm always in there to get a medal or to place so I will push myself as far as I can go."

Overall, competitors in this year's challenge have raised over $1 million for LBCNZ.

Whitford and Cooney have raised over $5000 so far and thanked family, friends, members of their fire brigade and all the members of the Whanganui community who have donated to their cause.

They also thanked Pak'nSave Whanganui and Mitre 10 Whanganui for allowing them to put on fundraiser barbecues, Sarah from BNT Whanganui for helping them with the barbecues, and the Community Arts Centre for giving them space to host a garage sale.

People who want to support Whitford and Cooney's fundraising efforts can still donate to their team until 12pm Saturday at the Whanganui Volunteer Fire Brigade team page on the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge's website.

A live stream of the event can also be found on that website.