Dorothy Westerman
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 14/05) - Yellowknife firefighters ran, climbed, dragged heavy gear and sweated it out in competitions they won't soon forget.

Anthony Barrett, Tony Ondrack, Ian MacDonald, Deiter Andre and Jamie Stringer competed in back-to-back weekend fitness challenges.

The firefighters placed 12th out of 15 teams, at the Alberta Regional Firefit Championships in Strathcona County on the Sept 10th weekend.

The next weekend Barrett, MacDonald and Andre competed at the national competition at the University of Alberta Butterdome, and placed 36th out of 40 teams.

Barrett described the regional competition as a learning experience and a good chance to hone their strengths and identify their weaknesses.

"I think it is important because you are representing your fire department," Barrett said. "And it is important for the public to see you out there and being physically active," he added.

All but MacDonald were new to the competition.

"I'd have to say the most difficult part was the training you put in prior to the event," Barrett said.

"The event itself is probably the most gruelling two minutes you would ever have in your lifetime, but definitely a lot more blood, sweat and tears are spent on training prior to it," he added.

"It was good for us to represent Yellowknife and put us on the map," MacDonald said.

During the challenge, firefighters dressed in full gear must perform a series of tasks, such as a stair climb, hose hoist, hose advance, victim rescue, forcible entry and tag team relay.

Five seconds off

The team time was 6:35.11. - fast enough to qualify for the national competition in Edmonton the following weekend.

"As a team we did better and ended up qualifying for the world championships," Barrett said.

A lack of funding will prevent Yellowknife firefighters from attending the event in Miami Beach, Fla. this month, MacDonald said.