October 2, 2007

Under 21 team qualifies at event

       One part-time firefighter and four Cadet Firefighters from the White River Township Fire Department participated last week in the Tyco/Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge regional event in Evansville, Indiana.  Cadet firefighters are high school students who wish to pursue a career as a firefighter and receive training and education while still in school in order to propel them after graduation.  Last year, a team made up of only cadet firefighters competed and qualified for the World Championship.  Since that time, Kyle Blue, has become a part-time firefighter with the fire department and returned to compete with two others from last year, Chris Pelley and Chris Flack.  The two new participants were Paul Cloyd and Sasha Davis.  The team this year, called "WRTFD Under 21", competed against teams from throughout the country including Team Pro-Tech 8, which finished 3^rd in the world championship last year and won this year’s regional event.  The White River team was able to finish with two qualifying times of 1:47:68 and 1:45:51.

         “The Team showed an incredible amount of determination”, said Steve Coover, a Fire Prevention Officer for the White River Township Fire Department and also the team's coach.  “Dr Davis expressed to me on Sunday, ‘Just participating in the event makes the firefighters successful’, I told him I think they are Champions.", Steve added.

         The Combat Challenge is an obstacle course that was originally a firefighter fitness evaluation conducted by Dr. Paul Davis from the Boston area.  It has now grown to a National Event that has gained in popularity over the past decade.  The Challenge, proclaimed to be “the toughest two minutes in sports”, is made up of five combined events while wearing full firefighting gear and breathing air from a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). Those events consist of:

1. 5-Story stair climb while carrying a 42lb Hotel Pack (hose fold)
2. Raising a 42lb hose roll up the 5-story wall by a rope.
3. Completing a forcible entry simulator with a 9lb shot mallet.
4. Negotiating a slalom course for a distance of 140 feet, advancing a charged hose line 140 feet, and then hitting a target with the stream.
5. Dragging a 175lb rescue dummy 100 feet to the finish.
    

          Individuals or teams wanting to compete in the World Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada in November must first qualify at one of approximately nineteen regional events by meeting or exceeding a minimum time score.
 

           

           
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