08/12/2025
The American Lung Association’s Fight For Air Stair Climb began more than 20 years ago as a downtown Miami event to fund lifesaving research and prevent lung disease. Now, in 2025, The Climb has grown into an iconic occasion at loanDepot Park with the same goals, but bigger and better. Metro-Dade Firefighters Local 1403 has been a presenting sponsor of The Climb since its inception and on Tuesday morning, we hosted the annual American Lung Association Awards Breakfast recognizing the outstanding achievements of our members who participated in The Climb’s 2025 edition. With more than 350 of our members on 19 teams accepting the challenge, Local 1403 was again the top fund-raising team locally and nationally, with a contribution of $52,107 ($72,107 including the presenting sponsorship): the first team ever to raise more than $50,000. Lt. Jeanette Harrington was recognized once again as the top individual fundraiser with a total of $23,000. She was also the honored as the American Lung Association Southeast Region Volunteer of the Year for 2025. Lt. Kristy Sheridan was selected as the first ever recipient of the Wilen Group Firefighter of the Year for her outstanding fundraising and leading the Battalion 13 team, which captured the travelling Battle of the Battalions Trophy for the second year in a row. Capt. Rick Stephens received accolades for developing the Firefighter Challenge Course and the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Cadet Program Team, with 63 members, was the largest team to climb. Congratulations to our award winners and all our team captains who helped make The Climb a resounding success.
