FIVE volunteer firefighters from Ararat will test their endurance in September as part of a campaign to fight depression and suicide amongst emergency service workers.<\/p>\n
The 9th<\/sup> annual Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb will see 600 firefighters and other emergency service personnel climb the 28 floors of Crown Metropol Hotel in Melbourne wearing 25 kilograms of equipment and breathing apparatus.<\/p>\n Ararat volunteer firefighters Jeydon Nancarrow, Matt Borecki, Rachel Crennan and Peta Chaplin are in training ahead of the Million Steps for Mental Health initiative in Melbourne on the 10th<\/sup> of September, while a fifth volunteer Bailey Mitchell will compete in the virtual climb.<\/p>\n The event hopes to raise $600,000 for Lifeline, Fortem and the 000Foundation to improve support services, fund research, remove stigmas and raise awareness of mental health issues like depression, post traumatic stress Injury and suicide.<\/p>\n Rachel Crennan said she wanted to do her bit to raise the profile of mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cI like the idea it is raising awareness for mental health problems, especially stuff like PTSI.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMental health is a big thing for me so I wanted to contribute,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI have an upstairs office at work which I have to go up and down about ten times at least a day so I guess that is my training,\u201d Rachel said.<\/p>\n Peta Chaplin said she decided to participate after the success of fellow fire fighter Michelle Turnham in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cHearing Michelle talk about it last year convinced me. I\u2019ve always thought about doing some sort of stair climb and when I heard about the fire fighters stair climb decided it was the perfect thing for me to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Jeydon Nancarrow said he competed in the climb in 2019 and was pleased to return.<\/p>\n \u201cI did it back in 2019 and wanted to continue that and fundraise for mental health organisations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve also had my own experience where I\u2019ve had to deal with that kind of stuff so it\u2019s pretty close to me,\u201d Jeydon said.<\/p>\n Matt Borecki said he is competing to help other emergency service workers doing it tough.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to raise a thousand dollars, it\u2019s not going to be easy in tough times but we\u2019re trying our best,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In 2020, there were 3,139 deaths by suicide in Australia<\/p>\n Nine Australians die everyday by suicide, that\u2019s more than double the road toll.<\/p>\n PTSI is more prevalent in occupations with higher exposures to trauma, including the defence force, emergency services and protective services.<\/p>\n