November 8, 2007

Heading toward the sky

Cold and fog greeted the large number of souls attempting the 18-story climb to the top of City Hall. It was a long haul and most everyone made it to the top. The first to challenge the tall climb were a group of fire fighters in full gear—weighing upwards of 25 pounds—to see if they could reach the top in case of a fire. Other climbers included the present instigator of the event, District 6 Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio and past challenger County Supervisor Ken Yeager. They were joined by other City Hall celebs including Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmembers Forrest Williams and Sam Liccardo, City Hall employees and various members of the media. Pictured above, from the left, dressed in a massive amount of gear—complete with axes—are Captains, from the Met 30 Division, Ken McCarthy, John Laurent, Chief Kevin Conant from Battalion One and Captains Dan DeLong and Craig Schwinge. Right: PRNS employee Betty Montoya tries on the fire gear, but decides against the encumbered try up the stairs.

–By Carol Rosen