Firefighters Race To Prove Strength, Endurance Missoula Man Sets Record For Rescue At Combat Challenge In Las Vegas
Sweaty, exhausted and out of breath, firefighters from around the world raced up a five-story tower with a hose, moved a steel beam with a hammer and then pulled 175-pound victims to safety.
The only thing missing was the fire.
More than 600 firefighters came to Las Vegas this week to test their strength and endurance in the Firefighter Combat Challenge. The race and obstacle course showed how physically demanding firefighting can be. ESPN broadcast the event.
“Get focused. Get focused,” one firefighter yelled to his teammate during Saturday’s finals.
Firefighters had to climb the tower carrying a 44-pound hose, hoist a rolled hose to the top of the tower, move a 160-pound steel beam five feet using a hammer, move a hose spraying water 75 feet and drag a dummy 100 feet. Firefighters did all this while wearing protective gear and oxygen masks.
The top firefighters completed the course in less than two minutes.
From the cheers of the crowd and how much training the firefighters go through, determining who was the toughest and strongest was clearly a big competition.
“It takes cardio, endurance,” said 28-year-old Brad Roe, a Missoula firefighter who won first place and broke the world record with a time of 1:29.35. “I have the right diet. It’s pretty important.”
Donavan Hansen, 28, of the North Las Vegas Fire Department broke the world record Wednesday, but was beaten Saturday by Roe. Hansen came in second.
“I love it. It’s really important to me because I’ve always set a high standard for myself,” Hansen said after posting a time of 1:30.62. “I’m always curious to see how I can do against the best.”
Most of the competitors train several times a week in gyms and on simulated obstacle courses. Each department can use three to five firefighters in competition. The top three scores determine the team’s time.
Derek Mullins of Missoula placed third individually with a time of 1:30.93.
Missoula won the team competition with a time of 4:49.43. Brampton, Ontario, came in second with 4:55.15, followed by Kanata, Ontario, with 4:55.48. The Martin County, Fla., Fire Department placed fourth with 4:56.4 and the Toronto A team placed fifth with 4:56.85.
“I’m in my 40s, but I can get you out (of a fire),” said Dale McRoberts, 43, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Fire and Rescue.
“It’s changing fitness on the job. That’s what this was developed for,” said Geoff Boisseau, 32, of the Toronto Fire Department.