Firefighters fan sporting flames
Canterbury volunteer firefighters, and couple, Amelia Wood and Ed Jackman are the fittest firefighters in New Zealand.
The pair compete in the Firefighter Combat Challenge, often described as the toughest two minutes in sport. The combat challenge pits firefighters against one another and the clock in a backbreaking course.
The couple have dominated New Zealand’s national combat challenge competitions and are now ripping up courses on the European circuit.
‘‘It is incredibly taxing on the lungs and muscles as well as mentally taxing as every fibre in the body is asking you to quit,’’ says Jackman, who has won the New Zealand National Firefighter Combat Challenge for the past three years. Wood placed second in the open female category.
Competitors wear full firefighting gear, including a breathing apparatus, weighing up to 25 kilograms. To kick off, they climb six flights of stairs carrying a 20kg hosepack.
At the top they haul a 20kg hose roll up the side of the tower.
After descending the tower they hammer a 70kg steel beam 1.5m, run a 40m slalom, drag a fully charged hose 20m to hit a target with water and finally drag a 80kg dummy 30m to the finish line.
In the past week the pair represented New Zealand in three championships in Germany and Poland, against firefighters from 17 countries. Despite the tough competition, Wood came first in the Firefit Championship in Germany and Jackman came fifth. Racing together, the couple came third in the co-ed tandem.
To maintain race-ready fitness the pair work out six days a week.
The couple met through their love for the sport. Jackman has been a part of the Rangiora Volunteer Fire Brigade for nine years, while Wood has been a firefighter for five years. Their sights are now set on the US national circuit next year, and ultimately the world championships.