Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
So gruelling was the course at the Eastern Ontario FireFit Championships that even some professionals who trained months for the event couldn’t complete it-and that’s perfectly okay.
Although its set up in a race format the clock is running, the ultimate goal for any competitor is just to top their personal best.
“It’s just the challenge, it’s not even about the competition against anybody else,” said Greater Napanee Emergency Service’s Kevin Duncan, who completed the course in 3:12:97. “You know how hard it is and how much it’s going to hurt, but you still want to do it.”
Just finishing the course is an accomplishment in itself. Decked out in full bunker gear underneath the mid-August sun, competitors must run up 60 stairs carrying a 45 pound hose pack. Once at the top they must pull another 45 hose pack to the top of the tower and then run down the stairs. Once they reach the bottom, they hop on the Keiser force machine to hammer a block which requires 300 pounds of pressure to move. Then it’s a run to the end of the course to drag a hose, which they’ll use to spray at target. Finally they must then drag a 175 pound Rescue Randy dummy 100 feet across the finish line.
“The stands were full and they’re so loud,” said Duncan of representing his hometown fire department. “You don’t hear them when you run because you’re so focused on surviving but I love it. So good to see all the people out here.”
The merciless challenge is all designed to give spectators an idea of what the brave members of emergency services might have to face when they answer a call.
“When you go in first with the hose pack and all the stuff on, it’s 400 degrees up there,” Duncan says of responding to a real life call. “Your adrenaline is going so you knock the fire down, then the real work starts. That’s what this is mostly about, the real work after the fire’s out. When you’re working really hard with an axe or a pike pole or whatever. You’re on air and you’re just exhausted after six minutes. These are two and a half minute guys running and those are 30 minute bottles. You’re going through half a bottle in those two minutes (when running the FireFit course) because you’re breathing so hard.”
GNES’ Dan Chalk also completed the course, turning in a time of 1:50:56.
“My last two runs have been 1:56, so my goal was to be below that,” said Chalk. “I’m happy with it technically, but if you’re doing FireFit, you have that mindset that you could always do better. I feel like I still could have been better.”
This was his second time competing in Napanee and he says the home crowd helped him reach that new personal best.
“Our home events are the most nerve wracking events,” said Chalk. “You look in the crowd and see 100 people you know, friends, family and all you want to do is perform. On the road you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Claude Belanger of Quebec’s Longueuil Fire Department was the top overall individual with a time of 1:20:31. On the women’s side Katherine Ross of the Brampton Fire Department was tops at 2:04:73.
From the local team Joe Reid was the top individual finisher from Napanee, posting a time of 1:47:48, which was 38th overall. Right behind him was Napanee’s Phil Lopes at 1:47:49. Chalk was 44th overall. Joe Thompson was 59th with a time of 2:06:06 while Robert Howe finished in 2:27:6, Peter Wionzek at 2:36:93, Shawn Tokonitz at 2:36:59, Chris Craig-Walker at 3:09:98 and Benny Snider at 3:12:97.
Nathan Maleska of the Stone Mills Fire Department was 51st at 1:58:29, Joshua Schyff of Loyalist Township Emergency Services 64th at 2:10:82, followed by teammate Rob Carroll in 68th at 2:16:52.
On the women’s side Sarah Ward of Stone Mills was 15th overall at a time of 4:39:43.
All told nearly 130 individuals from across Canada and the U.S. took part in the two day competition. Prior to the main event was the Corporate Challenge, where members of the public could register a team, with admission going towards the GNES toy drive.
With a packed grandstand throughout the weekend and a well-organized event, there was nothing but positive reviews for Napanee.
“All are happy with the event, they say it’s a great area and talk about how great the people in the community have been to them and what a beautiful town we have,” said Chalk after talking to some of his fellow competitors from out of town. “They really are enjoying themselves.”
The top finishers from Napanee’s event advance to the national championships, which will be held in Calgary.