Firefighters around the region, including Eastside Fire & Rescue, played a key role in raising a record $2.8 million in March during the annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb and the Big Climb in Seattle.

Proceeds in the annual Columbia Center stair-climbing events went to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and its Washington/Alaska chapter.

Top fundraising honors for the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb were earned by an EFR team, which generated $39,700. More than 1,500 firefighters from 24 states, Canada and Germany participated in the March 11 event.

A team of 83 EFR members helped raise $25,346 March 25 during the Big Climb.

The proceeds for both events were up 11 percent from 2011. Since 2007, financial support for the two climbing events has grown an average of 24 percent annually.