'Friendly neighborhood firefighters' help kids scale new heights in downtown Spokane

Spokane Fire Department Lt. Andrew Hall slowly hoisted 11-year-old Teagan Bartoo up a climbing wall Saturday in downtown Spokane.

"She can go as high as she wants," Kelsey Brastrup-Bartoo, Teagan's mother, told Hall. "She's kind of a daredevil."

Using a rope pulley system, Hall raised Teagan to the top of the towering wall inside Wild Walls Climbing Gym before lowering her to the padded floor.

About 20 children scaled walls or were lifted up them with the help of the fire department's technical rescue team as part of a Courageous Kids Climbing event Saturday.

Jeffrey Riechmann, Courageous Kids Climbing executive director, said the organization seeks to build confidence in children with physical and developmental disabilities. Riechmann, a retired firefighter from Southern California who now lives in McCall, Idaho, started the program 12 years ago with a climbing gym owner. They wanted to give back to youths and founded Courageous Kids Climbing.

"My favorite part is having one of these kids come in that is scared to death to even get within 30 feet of the climbing wall and an hour later, I can't get them off the wall," Riechmann said. "We've just taken them to a new level. We've given them a new opportunity. They're out in the public, they're learning how to focus, they're practicing their problem-solving skills."

Riechmann would step in at times Saturday and pull parents away from their children climbing a wall, so they could figure the climb out themselves and develop a sense of independence. A firefighter or volunteer will catch them if they fall, he said.

"Our big goal here, like today, is to have one kid do something they didn't think they could do and leave with a smile," he said. "If we have one kid do that, we're good."

Riechmann hosts climbing events throughout the Western U.S., with most of them held in the Inland Northwest where he lives. He said Saturday marked the program's 189th climbing event and 2,180 children have participated the last dozen years.

He tries to bring firefighters, medics or law enforcement to the events to interact with the young climbers. The Spokane Fire Department's technical rescue team was tapped for Saturday's free function.

The climbing events benefit both firefighters and children, Riechmann said. The firefighters enhance their rope skills and work with children with various challenges while the kids can learn that firefighters are there to help when they need them in fires or medical emergencies.

"They're learning not to be afraid of firefighters or people in uniform," Riechmann said. "I mean, what's more cool for a kid than to have a firefighter help you?"

Spokane Fire Lt. Josh Spellman said he hopes the young climbers understand firefighters can be a "safe space." He said it's also important for he and his fellow firefighters to understand children's limitations and nonverbal cues in an emergency event.

It was Spellman's first time helping at a Courageous Kids Climbing function.

"Being able to kind of take a break from the calls and the daily grind that is our every day and being able to come out and do something special like this is pretty awesome," Spellman said. "All the guys on the crew are smiling ear to ear."

Hall said the department's technical rescue team helps at the event each year, but it was also his first time assisting.

"This has been a blast already," he said.

Hall said he loves sharing his team's love of rope training while also helping climbers understand that firefighters are their friends.

"We're your friendly neighborhood firefighters and a lot of these kids want to be friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, so it kind of works out," Hall said.

Hall said some of the climbers, like 4-year-old Henry Frazier, were hesitant to climb at first but became intrigued.

"Every opportunity to have community outreach like this is really special," Hall said. "That's one of the reasons why we become firemen is to be engaged with the community. We live and work in this community. We want to give back to this community because they give so much to us."

Chris Frazier, Henry's mother, said Henry was diagnosed with autism in December. She said it's difficult to find events tailored to children with special needs, so she jumped on the climbing opportunity.

"It's hard for us to get out sometimes and do stuff like this," she said. "So, when I saw the opportunity come across, I was like, 'Yes, please. I would love to take him to do something that he wouldn't otherwise get to do.' "

She said Henry already built confidence in himself Saturday. At first, he was a bit fearful when he looked at the tall walls, but worked his way from the short walls to the big ones.

"A lot of times because of his condition he's a little more timid and he doesn't want to try a lot of things and he gets scared," she said.

She said she also wants to encourage him to take small steps to prove to himself he can do challenging tasks and that his condition doesn't need to limit him.

"He can do stuff that any other kid can do," she said. "It just might look a little different and so this I think was really great not only to prove that to him but also for me."

Brastrup-Bartoo, mother to Teagan, also noted the limited activity options for children with disabilities in the region.

"I try to do everything and anything that we can that allows her to get an experience and exposure to things that everybody should be able to be exposed to," Brastrup-Bartoo said.

The children also climbed into one of the department's fire engines parked outside. Firefighters described to the children the vehicle and equipment attached to it.

Teagan was one of the kids who sat inside the fire engine.

"She's all about fun and trying new things," Brastrup-Bartoo said.

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