Meet our most EXTREME climber
Firefighter Touché Howard
 
Touché Howard is a firefighter from Fire Station 1 in Durham, North Carolina. He has been fighting fires for 12 years and is the first firefighter to climb in Story by Story.
 
Touché is preparing to climb 245 Park Avenue twice: 86 flights, for a total of 1,710 steps while wearing nearly 60 pounds of turnout gear.

In 2012, Touché became the first person in the history of the Empire State Building Run-Up race to make the brutal ascent to the 86th floor in complete firefighter gear. He climbed the Empire State Building a second time last February.

Photo by Katia S. Photography • www.Katiasphotography.com

As a firefighter, Touché has responded to countless domestic violence incidents and witnessed first-hand the effects of intimate partner violence. He shares: 

"Firefighters treat the wounds when bad things happen to people. It is impossible to explain why people do mean things to one another or to understand how things turn so terrible after two people decide to build a life together.

"So many domestic violence victims are trapped, they have no place to go. And for many it must seem that there is no way out, that there is no way to end the cycle of violence in their lives.

"But that is what you guys do—you break the cycle. Her Justice uses the law to help women break free from their abusers and rebuild their lives. I am proud to climb 1,710 steps to help Her Justice do what it does best—break this terrible cycle and shift the power from abuser to survivor."

Help Touché scale 86 floors to bring an end to domestic violence. Make a big cheer when you see him on the stairs—and support Touché by donating to his climb!
 
 

We had a chance to speak with Touché and ask a few more questions about his Story by Story climb, here is what he shared…

Why do you climb stairs?

“Climbing in Story by Story is an important milestone for me. I am just now returning to work after a surgery that has kept me off of the job for two months. This is will be my first major vertical climb in six months. For me, stair climbing is about maintaining peak firefighter fitness. It has been a fast path to recovery after experiencing serious injuries on-the-job. It has become a methodology to get in shape and a way to maintain my career.

“Stair climbing requires tremendous physical exertion; it pushes your body hard. Climbing in turnout gear and breathing through an air mask makes the climb much more challenging—it is highly restrictive; it is important not to feel bound by your gear. Climbing in turnouts enables me to build my aerobic fitness and have greater physical comfort and endurance when I face the extreme physical conditions of a fire.

“While stair climbing has had many personal benefits for both my health and career, climbing skyscrapers has also given me the unique opportunity to suit-up and lift my feet for great causes."

There aren't many skyscrapers in Durham. How do you train?

“You are right, there aren’t any skyscrapers in Durham. I spend a lot of time running stairs in parking decks! Buddies at the firehouse pace stairs with me and push me hard in workouts and exercise regimes. After experiencing two serious on-the-job injuries, it would have been impossible for me to come back without their help. The moral support I receive from my colleagues is how I make it to the top of these buildings. They have worked me hard to get me in shape and back on duty.”     

Read more about Touché in Huffington Post, Daily News and Firefighter Nation.