Firefighter Competition Hot, Heavy
The 100 firefighters who stomped around downtown Spokane Tuesday in full protective gear and fogged-up air masks sprayed water, but only to cool themselves off.
They weren’t fighting a fire just competition that was as fierce as one.
The rescue teams from four Northwestern states and the Marshall Islands tested their strength and endurance in competitive drills for the third annual Firefighter Combat Challenge.
The contest was one of the last events of this week’s convention of the Western Fire Chiefs and the International Fire Code Institute.
A team from Murray, Utah, won the overall contest and will represent the Northwest in the national competition in St. Louis later this month.
“I’ve never seen such intense competition,” said Paul Davis, the Challenge’s organizer. “These guys are tough.”
The five-member teams hauled hoses, hoisted 45-pound packs and ran up and down a five-story tower for part of the drill. Then, without stopping, they hammered a 165-pound beam for a distance of 5 feet and dragged a 175-pound dummy victim across the parking lot to the finish line.
Once there, teammates raced to help the firefighter out of his 50-pound fire suit and air mask. Some threw Gatorade at him. More exhausted finishers were lugged to a cot under a tent and fanned with paper folders.
“I feel like I’m going to die,” said one Salt Lake City firefighter as he stumbled to a chair. “I can hardly breathe. My legs.”
The drill is designed to help firefighters improve their fitness and response times.
Davis, who founded the program three years ago in Maryland, said the contest lets the public see firefighters in action while challenging the teams to do their best.
“We’re talking about the most dangerous occupation in America today,” Davis said. “We’ve automated everything in this world, but you can’t automate fighting fires.”
Spokane Fire Chief Bobby Williams watched his team from the sidelines and smiled. Although they weren’t the fastest, all five of the city’s firefighters finished easily, with little fatigue.
“This is just a snapshot of the drills they have to perform on a regular basis, at every fire they go to,” Williams said. “It’s amazing what they can get themselves to do.”
Nearby, Mike Massengale stuffed his helmet into a duffle bag and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The firefighter from the Marshall Islands, south of Guam, complained of the heat. He said simply that he was glad it was over.
“I had trouble with that dummy at the end,” Massengale said. “And I don’t know how you people stand this heat. It’s ridiculous.”
Massengale’s chief, Gerald Huff, said his team trained three months for the competition and figured they’d do well. The islands’ department is staffed with 57 firefighters who also perform water rescues, he said.
Spokane’s altitude of about 2,000 feet, however, got the best of them, Huff said.
“We trained hard, but we’re at like one foot down there,” he said of the Marshall Islands. “It whupped us good.”
Todd Chism, 28, walked off the course with the Spokane team’s best time: 2:51. The seven-year firefighter said he was happy with the results.
“We didn’t come here just to win,” Chism said. “We came for the camaraderie and to show the public what we do. Obviously, watching this, not just average Joe can come out here and do it.”
Hot fun under the sun at rescue competition