When seconds count

Annual Firefighter Olympics test endurance with challenges based on fire-fighting skills.

By: Charlie Olsen
   Dressed in full-turnout gear with a mask and 50-pound air tank, a firefighter scrambles up five flights of stairs knowing that every second counts. After pounding away with a sledgehammer and aiming a fire hose, he spies his "victim" and drags him to safety.
   After nearly three minutes of grueling hard work, the firefighter collapses, knowing that while he may not have saved any lives today, he did his best at the eighth annual Firefighter Olympics — a timed competition that simulates situations a firefighter might encounter at the scene of a fire.
   "These are all evolutions that could be needed at a fire scene, actions that a firefighter could be called on to perform," said ex-chief and Firefighter Olympics chair Doug Matthews. "The (sledgehammer) is similar to forcible entry with an ax or chopping through a roof to ventilate; the hose lift is similar to hoisting tools."
   Hosted by Fire Co. No. 2 at its firehouse Saturday, the competition challenged 31 firefighters and 14 teams from many towns to complete — back to back — a number of strenuous tasks as quickly as they can.
   The tasks included: dragging a hose up five stories of scaffolding; hoisting a 45-pound roll of hose; using a sledgehammer to move a 165-pound weight five feet; aiming a fire hose at a target; and dragging a 175-pound mannequin, Rescue Randy, to safety.
   "It’s based on the Firefighter’s Combat Challenge on ESPN — it’s the toughest two minutes in sports," Mr. Matthews said, likening the firefighters’ exhausted collapse at the end to rowers in the international Olympics who collapse after their 2,000-meter sprint.
   This year’s individual competition winner was Marshall Farley of Hillsborough Fire Co. No. 1, who managed to complete the course in 2 minutes and 57 seconds. Although it was 10 seconds slower than his winning performance last year, Mr. Farley still beat the nearest competition by 8 seconds.
   Fire Co. No. 1 tied for second in the tag team, a category that assigns a firefighter to each task, with Nutley. Both had a time of 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
   Volunteers from Fire Co. No. 2 staffed the event, filling air tanks and often assisting exhausted firefighters with blood pressure checks and bottles of water.
   Fire Company No. 1 has been in the top three for every event since 2004.
   "They really work at it," Mr. Matthews said. "Some do it twice, individual and then tag team — that’s like Ironman stuff."