RAF Brize Norton News

RAF Brize Norton Firefighters Conquer 'Everest' for the NHS to Raise £3200+

It was 07:45 in the morning time, Saturday 2nd May 2020.

There was a crisp still in the air. A feeling of nervous excitement.

RAF Brize Norton Firefighters Conquer ‘Everest’ for the NHS to Raise £3200+

The only comparison to this aura, could be compared to how Sir Edmund Hillary must have felt on May 29th, 1953, almost 67 years exactly to the day.

The Fire Section at RAF Brize Norton played host to one of the finest feats of physical achievement in the modern era.

It entailed guts, determination, bananas and Lucozade.

RAF Brize Norton Firefighters Conquer ‘Everest’ for the NHS to Raise £3200+

A 10.5m ladder was erected, and the gruelling target of scaling the dizzy heights of 8,848m (29,029ft), carrying full fire kit, with an additional weight of 25kg in the form of a BA set began.

Round robins of climbing up the ladder, traversing the tricky ‘Hillary Step’ (walking over the top of the BA training facility), and descending the rear of the building continued, at an un-merciful pace.

Our goal at the beginning of the ascent was to complete the climb in 8 hours.

Our finishing time was an outstanding 4 hours 59 minutes.

Overall, this was a very successful event. The show of camaraderie and resilience that each individual showed to reach our goal was credit to our fire crew as a whole.

This money was donated via a Just Giving page (which can still be accessed on Facebook for any further donations) to the fantastic NHS.

The work that our brave men and women are carrying out in extremely testing times, was a subject very close to all our hearts. As a collective, we felt very proud to support this great cause.

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