Getting FireFit
Islanders gear up for FireFit national event in Ottawa
Several members of the Kinkora, Miscouche and Borden-Carleton fire departments are taking part in the national FireFit competition.
It’s the hardest two minutes in sports. But that isn’t stopping Michael Lawless, Johnny Dugay, Rob Squires, of the Kinkora Fire Department, and other Island firefighters from preparing to race the clock in the national FireFit competition this week in Ottawa.
Q: What is FireFit?
Rob Squires: It’s a competition course created by the national firefighting organization. There are seven tasks you have to complete in full turn-out gear under a certain time limit. You have to complete a stair climb with a high-rise pack, hose hoist from the top of the tower, descend the tower touching every stair, forcible entry by moving a beam, run 140 feet hose advance and hit a target, and then rescue a victim and move the 165-pound rescue dummy 100 feet.
Q: What does the competition mean to you?
Michael Lawless: For me it was a way to stay in shape. I played sports when I was in high school, and now I wanted to try something new. I also wanted to represent my department and my community. You don’t realize what you’re capable of until you finish this course.
RS: I really enjoy the sport. There is the huge sense of camaraderie whether you participate in the team event or the individual trials. But you also get the opportunity to better yourself. Johnny Dugay: I only compete in the team trials. It gives you the chance to have some fun with your team and challenge yourself physically and mentally.
Q: What is your favourite part?
RS: It really is the camaraderie. You get it when we train together three times a week and when you compete and you have total strangers cheering you on.
You could go up against someone and they finish first, but you can bet they’ll come back and walk beside you and encourage you as you finish the course. It’s a very unselfish event; it is the epitome of what a firefighter is.
JD: We’re a volunteer fire crew. We have no idea what we’re going to get into when we get on a scene. But this competition tests you. There are moments
where you don’t think you’ll finish but you push yourself and leave no excuses. Branson Mayne along with Aaron MacFarlane, Grant Desjardins,
Logan Heffel and Danny Young (of Kinkora Fire Department) will also try their hand at the competition.
Q: How does it feel to represent your station on a national level?
Branson Mayne: I’m representing Borden-Carleton (Fire Department) and my parents are coming to cheer me on too. It’s cool to have them there with me. This competition takes everything you have, and when you think you have nothing left, you hear them cheering for you and then you keep going.
Q: Have you ever had a make-it-or-break-it moment while competing?
Danny Young: I’ll tell you there are times where I was at the top of the tower and said ‘What the hell I am I doing?’ because every second in the competition matters. You are fighting against a clock and yourself. Like carrying Rescue Randy, the dummy, is sheer intimidation. It’s 165 pounds of dead weight, but what he also signifies is that you’re nearly finished. And so you keep going and you know you’ve overcome this huge feat. There’s a lot of heart here.
Aaron MacFarlane: And not a lot of brain cells. But by the end of it you’re on this kind of rush, it doesn’t matter.
Q: Why do you think competitions of this nature are important?
AM: In all my life I’ve never participated in a sport or event where, by the end of it, the people you are competing against are cheering for you and you’re cheering for them. It doesn’t matter who wins at the end of the day because everyone has each other’s backs.
Grant Desjardins: It’s really incredible. You feel closer to everyone on your squad, you get to meet new people from all over Canada, sometimes even the United States. It’s an opportunity most don’t get to have.