The Pella Fire Department has once again been recognized for their efforts in the American Lung Association’s Annual Fight for Air Climb.

Heather Johnson with the organization awarded a trophy to Pella Firefighters for being the top fundraising team among participating fire departments in the state for the second year in a row. She tells KNIA/KRLS News the effort made by Pella Fire was “incredible.”

“The Fight for Air Climb is a community event and being the only fundraiser for the lung association in Iowa, we really view ourselves as a full Iowa community event,” she says. “Having a fire department that is already volunteering their time for their community and have a lot of other causes that take up their time, that they choose us to work with and to spend their time to volunteer means a lot to us.”

Over the past three years, the Pella Fire Department has raised a combined $18,000 for the American Lung Association to help with research for various lung diseases. Pella Fire Chief Doug Van Gorkom says he’s thankful for the community’s contributions and the firefighters taking extra time to raise funds and participate in the relay.

“It’s an absolute honor that we have guys that are that dedicated to the American Lung Association and Pella Fire Department,” he says. “The comradery and teamwork is just phenomenal in this department, and I’m very thankful for that.”

The Pella Fire Department also had one of their relay teams wearing full fire gear earn a 2nd place finish in the firefighter stair climb challenge. They’ve had 12 climbers participate both this year and last.

Van Gorkom says the department plans to have a pancake breakfast at the end of fire prevention week in October in an effort to top the $10,000 mark for next year’s climb after raising more than $9600 in 2017.