A Flathead Valley firefighting team finished third in Sunday’s Scott Firefighter Stairclimb race in Seattle.

Kalispell and Whitefish firefighters were among 1,800 competing. Firefighters climbed 69 flights of stairs, or 1,356 steps, carrying 35 to 40 pounds of gear.

Taylor Zachary of Kalispell finished 13th overall with a time of 13 minutes, 10 seconds to lead the Kalispell-Whitefish team.

“It definitely feels good, but it’s surprising as well,” Zachary said. “It was just the result of a lot of hard work and training throughout the year. It helps to have a lot of support from my family and wife, who is super tolerant, and so are my kids.”

Zachary said his children, a 2-year-old and a six-month-old, are a part of his training regimen. Zachary usually takes them along on an 8-mile run every day, as well as ski climbs up Blacktail Mountain a few times a week.

“They’re very family-friendly there, so I can have one kid on my back and one kid on my front when I’m skinning up,” he said.

While at the Kalispell Fire Department, Zachary takes a 10-mile run and then adds a 50-pound vest before charging up a few flights of stairs.

Kyle Gully and Don Thibert, two other Kalispell firefighters on the team, finished in the top 50 with times of 14:22 and 14:36, respectively. Gully finished 33rd and Thibert placed 43rd.

Zachary said 11 firefighters competed on the Kalispell/Whitefish team, including three firefighters from the Whitefish Fire Department, one from Big Mountain Fire and seven from Kalispell Fire. Sunday was Zachary’s fourth time competing in Seattle.

The fundraising aspect of the event, he said, plays into the entire competition.

“One-hundred percent of everything raised goes toward leukemia lymphoma,” Zachary said. “The climb is very difficult and you can suffer for 15 minutes, but it’s nothing like what the people who are going through cancer deal with. That makes it all worthwhile.”

Firefighters are required to raise at least $300 each to compete in the stair climb.

Zachary credited most of the fundraising work to Sarah Peterson of the Whitefish Fire Department. Peterson organized events such as community tap nights at Tamarack Brewing Co. and Great Northern Brewing Co., as well as a charity night at Wasabi Sushi Bar in Whitefish.

“It’s great to see all the firefighters from around the country come together and compete but raise money for a cause. That’s what it’s about,” Zachary said.

Last year, the Kalispell-Whitefish team finished fifth overall.

Missoula City Fire won the event in Seattle and Missoula firefighter Andrew Drobeck won his fifth consecutive individual title. Drobeck’s time was 10:43. Another Missoula City firefighter, Benjamin Brunsvold, finished second.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.