Firefighter Students Heading to National FireFit Championships
Peterborough, ON – (Aug. 30, 2022) – Fleming College’s Pre-Service Firefighter students are heading west in September to compete in the National FireFit Championships.
Taking place in Calgary from Sept. 7 – 11, the FireFit Championships have been described as the ultimate test of firefighting skills and endurance, pitting the top firefighters and firefighting students against each other.
Teams will push through their physical and mental limits as they demonstrate their skills against the clock on a course comprised of six gruelling physical challenges, all while wearing 50 lbs. of firefighting gear. The competition is based on firefighting tasks commonly performed in emergency situations, including carrying weights up a five-storey tower and dragging a 175 lb. mannequin.
There are categories for men and women, and both compete on the same course in individual and team relay competitions.
This is the eighth year a team from Fleming has competed in FireFit Championships. The team secured its invitation to the Championship due to its success throughout the 2022 season at multiple competitions.
The Fleming FireFit Team is made up of nine students and coaches. Coaches are not only participating in the FireFit competition but are also full-time firefighters themselves.
Fleming’s FireFit Team will face the following challenges during the National FireFit Championships:
- The Stair Climb: With a four-foot bundle of a four-inch, 42 lb. hose carried on the outside shoulder, competitors climb six flights of stairs and deposit the hose completely in a box
- Hose Hoist: A 45 lb. hose must be hauled up to the top of a tower and completely deposited in a box.
- Forcible Entry: Designed as a chopping simulator, competitors must move a beam a certain distance using a nine lb. shot mallet and then place the mallet on a 4’ x 4’ surface area.
- Run: Competitors walk or run as fast as they can around hydrants-a distance of 140 ft., then shoulder a fully charged fire hose.
- Hose Advance: Competitors drag a fully charged hose 75 feet. Once the nozzle crosses the 75-foot mark the competitor must open the nozzle, hit a target with the stream of water and then close the nozzle and place it on the ground.
- Victim Rescue: A 175 lb. mannequin must be dragged backwards for 100 ft. Time stops when the competitor and the mannequin cross the beam at the finish line.
Media are invited to meet the FireFit team during their training session Aug. 31, from 6 – 6:30 p.m. in the KUBE in the Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre.
Please let Communications Officer Sarah Deeth (sarah.deeth@flemingcollege.com) know if you’re interested in attending.
About Fleming
College
Fleming College respectfully acknowledges that we are situated on
Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg lands and territory. Located in the heart of Central
Ontario, Fleming College has campus locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg
and Haliburton. Named for famous Canadian inventor and engineer Sir Sandford
Fleming, the college features more than 100 full-time programs in Arts and
Heritage, Business, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, General Arts
and Sciences, Health and Wellness, Justice and Community Development, Skilled
Trades and Technology, and Continuing Education. Fleming College has more than
6,800 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and 80,000 alumni.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Deeth
Communications Officer
705-749-5530 ext. 1161
Web: flemingcollege.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/flemingcollege
Twitter: @FlemingCollege
Instagram: @flemingcollege