(Photo: rdnewsNOW/Dan Hermanutz)

By Dan Hermanutz

up on the roof

Rooftop firefighters raising funds for muscular dystrophy

Mar 6, 2020 | 2:53 PM

Some local firefighters are once again going up, way up in support of a good cause.

Four firefighters from Red Deer Emergency Services are perched on the roof of Station Three on Lees Street for their annual campout for Muscular Dystrophy.

The firefighters will spend from noon Friday to noon Monday up on the roof, a total of 96 hours.

“We’ve been doing this as firefighters since 1954,” said Ben Shillington, a firefighter and organizer for the event. ”It’s been going on for sixty-some years, it’s important.”

This is the sixth year Red Deer Emergency Services is participating in the fundraiser. In previous years, the station has raised upwards of $15,000 for the cause.

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Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as though weather will be on their side this weekend.

“It looks like -20 Celcius, so it will be nice and chilly, we’ll have to bundle up and stay warm up there,” said Griff Marshall, one of the firefighters spending the next few nights on the roof. “This is my first time. It’s a rite of passage here, we’re all looking forward to going up there and hanging out.”

The department will be collecting donations through boot drives for the cause along 30th Avenue on the west side of the hall from noon until 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Sparky the mascot and a bunch of firefighters will be present to collect donations and take some photos.

You can also make a donation by visiting rooftopcampout.ca.