BEND, OR -- Bend firefighters surprised a special first grader at Tumalo School, Monday, picking him up in a fire engine and providing him VIP treatment at the South Fire Station. Firefighter Eddie Vahdat says it was all part of helping Tristan Carrion know what an inspiration he is for the team participating in an upcoming stair-climb competition. "Every year, we honor a local child and they accompany us up to Seattle to the competition. This just brightens the child’s day. This year, it’s Tristan; he’s six-years-old. He’s got Rhabdomyosarcoma; it’s his second diagnosis for him. He’s always traveling back and forth to Portland."
Firefighters prepared Tristan's favorite dinner Monday evening, and he was given a gift bag during his special tour of the fire station. He'll travel with the Bend team to the Scott Firefighter Stair Climb, March sixth in Seattle. Bend Team Captain Vahdat tells KBND News, "He’s a little warrior; he fits everything that we want as inspiration in Seattle."
Bend firefighters have been training and collecting donations since November for the event, which is a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. At 1,311 steps, it's the largest firefighter competition in the world. Crews run up 69 floors of the tower, carrying more than 60 pounds of gear. In 2015, Capt. Scott Wyman finished with the fastest time of the Bend firefighters at 12 minutes, 29 seconds.
To donate online, visit the Bend Fire team page, HERE.
