FREDERICKTOWN — Jason Bostic is used to running in while everyone else is running out — such is the life of a career firefighter.
That was the case recently, too, but there was no fire.
“While we were going up, anyone in the building was coming down,” Bostic said of his adventure at the Columbia Center Tower in Seattle, Washington.
Bostic, a Fredericktown native and retiree from the fire department in that village, along with his son Jonas, and wife Jenn flew to the Emerald City, where Jason “competed” in the Blood Cancer United Firefighter Stairclimb.
Participating firefighters must first account for a minimum of $300 in donations for blood cancer research. Bostic raised $1,800. The total for the 2026 climb reached $2.5 million.
“The first year this was held, there were some 500 who finished the climb,” Bostic said.
This year 2,000 firefighters finished the event, which required a climb of 69 floors. Did Bostic count the number of steps?
“1,356 and I have touched every one of them, I have even crawled up a few,” he noted. “The building has 76 floors, but we use only 69 of them.
“A few years ago, I had a terrible sinus infection. I started getting sick on the way out there, and yeah, the last 10 floors I was literally pulling myself up.”
Not only do the participants climb 1,356 steps in an average of 30 minutes, but they do so in full turnout gear. The gear, also known as bunker gear, includes SCBA (Self-contained Breathing Apparatus), helmet, gloves, coat and pants.
“Mine weighs 42.5 pounds,” Bostic said.
Originally known as the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, the name was changed to encompass more than just those two diseases.
“They rebranded, I think this is the third rebrand in their history. They rebranded to Blood Cancer United, so that was last year,” Bostic explained. “There are more blood cancers than those two.”
The retired firefighter then offered a frightening statistic.
“There are more than 100 blood cancers that are recognized out there, and we felt that we were not hitting the mark as being all inclusive,” he said.
Bostic became involved with blood cancer research fund-raising for a very personal reason:
“If it weren’t for my mother, who had leukemia, I probably never would have heard of this event,” he said. “She was in the final stages of the disease, and as a last-ditch effort, she had a bone marrow transplant; the first ever performed at Ohio State, her match came from the Netherlands.”
The transplant was in 1990; his mother passed away in 2025.
“The research gave us another 35 years with mom,” he said.
While Bostic has been involved with the fundraiser for 20 years, several years ago, he took on the added responsibility of being an Ambassador.
“The difference in being a competitor and an ambassador is the amount of time,” he said. “As a competitor, I sign up, I fundraise, I fly out there, I show up on the day of the event, and compete.
“As an ambassador, we play a big role in the communication piece, we are basically an intermediary, and work with the teams in the planning of the event.”
The Fredericktown native did say the weekend is not all work and no play.
“One of the perks is that you get to spend time with like-minded individuals,” Bostic said. “Having a great time, reconnecting with old friends and bringing our families with us.”
Jason was in charge of media and photography, which meant getting information out to media outlets three months before the event. His 16-year-old son, Jonas, was the lead photographer, and his wife, Jenn worked in the hospitality area.
As is often the case with men and women who answer the alarm, firefighters are more susceptible to blood cancers based upon the environments in which they work. Some firefighters are killed in fires and do not even know it, because the diseases may not manifest for years.
“What are firefighters most susceptible to? Well, we’re susceptible to cancer,” Bostic said. “Why are we susceptible to cancer? Because of all of the stuff that’s on our fire gear. In fact some of the stuff that is on our gear that is manufactured is actually carcinogenic.”
The funds raised benefit all blood cancer research for everyone suffering from the disease.
Jason and Jonas are known in Fredericktown for their photographic and videographic coverage of Freddie sports of all types. The father-son duo was recognized by the senior class athletes during the halftime of a basketball game.
“We had no idea, when fans were asked to direct their attention to midcourt, we both grabbed our cameras to capture whatever it was that was going to happen, they then called our names and I was fighting back tears,” Jason Bostic said.
