EAST HELENA — The East Helena Volunteer Fire Department feels a lot like home to Brandon McClain.
He grew up around firefighters, followed his father into the fire service, and now, 35 years after losing his dad to cancer, McClain is preparing for one final climb in his memory. This time, his son will be climbing alongside him.
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“I lost my hero, and the city lost a hero,” McClain said.
Randall Clyde “Randy” McClain was a Helena firefighter and father of two. He died from lymphoma on Oct. 1, 1991, at just 33 years old, leaving behind Brandon and his younger brother Ryan.
Some of Brandon’s earliest memories are from around the firehouse, a place he said he always wanted to be. He remembers the sounds, smells, and camaraderie, but especially remembers watching what happened when a call came in.
“[He] took off like a rocket, turned around at the door and said, ‘You boys just stay right here,’” Brandon recalled.
For a young boy watching his father spring into action, the transformation left an impression that would last for decades.
“We were younger, we were peeking around the corner and watching all the scurry and everything like that, but watching him transition from caregiver in a fatherhood role to a caregiver in a hero role was amazing,” Brandon said.
“Nothing better than that. It’s like watching your parent turn into Superman.”
A community rallies around the McClain family
When Randy became sick, the same community Brandon had grown up around rallied behind his family.
In 1991, a cancer benefit was held for Randy at Memorial Park in Helena. KTVH covered the fundraiser at the time, and Brandon still has photographs showing his father and the community members who came together to support him.
That support continued when Randy died.
People lined the funeral procession route, businesses stopped, and the line of vehicles stretched between Helena and East Helena.
“One of my last memories ever about the funeral was just the amount of cars that was in the procession,” Brandon said.
For a boy who had just lost his father, it was difficult to fully understand what he was witnessing.
“It was the worst day of my life, right? But it was amazing,” Brandon said. “Looking back on it now, it was the most amazing spectacle as a child I could ever see.”
The support extended well beyond the funeral.
“[They] basically took care of us,” Brandon said. “They had people coming in and checking in on us. You know, family members coming in, cooking meals for us for the longest time.”
As Brandon grew older, firefighters who had known Randy also helped him learn more about his father.
Retired Helena Fire Department Capt. Brian Roberts only worked with Randy briefly, but said his influence stuck with him.
“His father was one of those guys that you looked up to because he, even though he was sick, he came to work and he taught CPR classes,” Roberts said. “He did an emergency services day. He was still involved around the aerial tower and other things he was involved in, so it was great inspiration to me to work with his dad as briefly as I did.”
Turning loss into a reason to climb
Brandon said he knew from childhood that the fire service was where he belonged. Today, he is a volunteer firefighter with the East Helena Volunteer Fire Department.
And for more than a decade, another part of his life has been closely tied to his father.
Each year, Brandon has taken on the Seattle Firefighter Stairclimb, climbing 69 floors of the Columbia Center in full firefighting gear while raising money to fight blood cancer.
His younger brother Ryan has also climbed alongside him twice over the years in honor of their father.
On March 21, 2027, Brandon plans to return to Seattle for what he intends to be his final climb.
“It’s a daunting task, but when I completed it, that was when I knew this was the calling that I was going to do,” Brandon said. “I was gonna face this until I can’t anymore.”
For Brandon, the effort has never been only about making it to the top.
“I’m gonna raise as much money as I can to help every family that is affected by this cancer,” Brandon said. “And I will defeat it one way or another, even if it’s taken my father.”
Passing the torch to another generation
Brandon’s final climb will be different from the others.
This time, his son Anthony McClain will be climbing beside him.
Anthony is in his first year with the East Helena Volunteer Fire Department, beginning his own path in the same fire service that has shaped his family for generations.
It was Anthony who convinced his dad to climb one more time.
“Means a lot,” Anthony said. “I grew up with him doing it, so it’s kind of been like a dream of mine to do, and I asked him to do it one more last time.”
“Last year, he said it was last year,” Anthony added. “And I was like, ‘Well, looks like I’m jumping on the station and gettin’ her done.’”
The two aren't leaving their competitive side at the firehouse, either.
Brandon and Anthony have dubbed their friendly competition “Old Man vs. Young Buck,” challenging each other both on the stairs and in fundraising. Together, they hope to raise $14,000 for organizations fighting blood cancer and supporting families affected by it.
They have already reached out to local businesses and supporters across the country, and have partnered with 406 Bridge Fitness – The 227 in East Helena as they prepare for the climb.
But for Brandon, passing the torch goes beyond who reaches the top first.
“The brotherhood, the camaraderie, the family, the service, stuff like that, I want to make sure that what was given and afforded to me, it can be handed off to somebody else,” Brandon said.
And after more than three decades, the father Brandon lost as a child is still at the center of what he does.
When asked what he hopes his father would think of the man he became, Brandon fought back tears.
“I hope he would be proud,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing.”`
Then Anthony was asked the same question about his own dad: What does he hope Brandon thinks when Anthony reaches the top?
“Proud of me,” Anthony said. “That’s the biggest thing.”
Thirty-five years after a community helped carry one family through its darkest days, Brandon is trying to give some of that support back while watching the next generation of his family take another step forward.
For the McClains, getting to the top was never really about the 69 floors.
It is about who helped them get there.
Anyone looking to donate to their fundraising efforts can be found here for Brandon and here for Anthony.
