Firefighters compete in FireFit Championships

It visits every province in Canada, and firefighters from around the world turn out to compete.

The FireFit World and Canadian Championships are taking place in St. Catharines this year.

There is a minimum standard of fitness for firefighters just to be able to do their job. To do this obstacle course, five to six tasks, under pressure and under two minutes? FireFit takes it to a whole other level.

“You pick up a 45 pound shoulder pack, you carry it six flights of stairs to the top,” said Corey Miller, organizer of FireFit Championships.

Then there’s dragging the 180 pound dummy and the hose which weighs 200 to 300 pounds fully charged. The competition is supposed to simulate what it would be like to work in an emergency situation as a fire fighter.

“The actual world record for an individual men’s time, which is the fastest time in the world so far, was set here on Wednesday in a wild card race, one minute, eight seconds,” said Miller.

300 competitors from all over the world have been competing in FireFit in St. Catharines since Wednesday. Some have travelled from as far away as Poland, with only two of them representing their country.

“I think this tower is a little easier than the European one, but we’ll see,” said Jaroslaw Bialas, a Polish firefighter.

The competition is the main draw but networking and the camaraderie is the main takeaway. But will they consider a move?

“We are in Canada for the first time. We have never been to Canada,” said Bialas.

A lot of extra training goes into the chance to compete. One athlete told us female firefighters are seeing a lot of support within their own team. But on social media? That’s another story.

“You often see comments about people not wanting a girl to show up to rescue them. You can still see it but it’s getting better,” said Carla Morrison, a FireFit competitor from the Strathcona Fire Department.

Proceeds from this event will be given to a local charity and the competition wraps up Sunday.

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