Test of endurance
Published 9:49 am Thursday, May 19, 2016
Members of the Woodland Volunteer Fire Department are shown in action in these two photos as they are put through their paces along an obstacle course during an event on Saturday at Tri-County Airport. | Photos by Kim Bunch Hoggard
WOODLAND – The Woodland Volunteer Fire Department hosted a firefighter competition Saturday at Tri-County Airport to test the firefighters’ physical prowess to not only extinguish a blaze, but to rescue potential victims as well.
The competition is a physically challenging test, pass or fail, which is timed to determine the winner.
WVFD hosted and won the competitive event.
WVFD Chief Greg Canady said firefighters had to scale a seven-foot wall, put their turnout gear on, weave through a series of cones, crawl through a confined space tunnel, hit a Keiser sled, get a 1 ½ inch line from the truck to the “fire”, represented by cones, and transport a 170-pound mannequin victim from the fire area onto a stretcher (called a Stokes Basket) to safely on the truck.
One of the two WVFD teams entered into the event captured first place, completing the obstacle course in 2 minutes, 51 seconds.
The team from Ahoskie Rural Fire Department finished a close second, completing the course in an even three minutes.
Chief Canady said the winning team members were David Barnes, Chris Collier, Jonathan Collier and Charles Powell.
Canady also competed, but was not part of the winning team.
In addition to WVFD and Ahoskie Rural VFD, Conway VFD attended the competition to watch and display its new truck.
Other teams from other departments were scheduled to compete, but canceled Saturday morning because of thunderstorm warnings.
The turnout gear the firefighters wear weighs about 30 pounds, adding to the physical stress they would face at a real fire.
The Keiser sled is a device firefighters use in training to simulate breaking into a well-built structure they have to enter.
The firefighters build up their lower bodies walking, running, and climbing, so the Keiser sled gives their upper bodies a workout.
The firefighter stands on the sled and uses a sledgehammer to move a block into place.
Many spectators were at the event, which included several young children who were as excited by the gleaming red fire trucks as by the firefighters showing off their physical abilities in service to their communities.
