PITTSFIELD, Mass. - The Pittsfield Fire Department announced they have broken their record of money raised for the B-Fit challenge, with more than $4,600 in their third year of participating. They also said the team they bring to the TD Garden has grown every year.

What You Need To Know

  • Members of the Pittsfield Fire Department participated in the B-Fit Challenge for the department's third time this year

  • The Bruins B-Fit Challenge, sponsored by National Grid, invites first responders, military members and community members to walk, run or step to benefit First Responder Charities. It is hosted by the Bruins Foundation at the TD Garden

  • The fitness challenge took place on Sunday, February 5 and raised more than $675,000 in total

  • A full list of charities B-Fit worked to raise funds for can be found here

“We started with two people doing it," Lieutenant Robert Leary said. "The first time we did it, we got up to six members doing it and then jumped into 12 this year.”

Leary is the B-Fit team lead for the department. He said it’s always great to make the trip to Boston and run the course.

“It’s a great way to test your fitness and your endurance level for a good 25 to 30 minutes running it through the Garden, trying to get it accomplished as quickly as you can,” Leary said.

“It was hard work for a half hour," said Chief Thomas Sammons. "But when we got done, we felt like we accomplished something.”

Sammons joined the group for his first time this year. He said all the money the department raised will support firefighters throughout the state who have occupational cancer, a constant danger for the profession.

“Anywhere where there's plastics burning, it's giving off poisons, and we equate smoke with cancer," Sammons said. "We've had a number of guys go out with occupational cancer, and it's constant. I double checked my numbers - Firefighters in the United States have a 9% higher chance of getting an occupational cancer and a 14% higher chance of dying from cancer.”

The department said staying healthy is a high priority and they’re thankful to be able to help other responders do the same through B-Fit.

“Fitness has always been important, and it just needs to continue to be important to us," Leary said. "It's a great way to help combat some of the risks of fighting cancer and what we're going to face in our job and throughout our time.”

“The goal is that we all do our time here and then we leave healthy,” Sammons said.

The department said they are thankful for the community’s support in fundraising. In total, the seventh annual B-Fit Challenge raised more than $625,000 to benefit first responder charities.