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A good show for CF/DND firefighters at national competition
September 20, 2006
Canadian Forces (CF) and Department of National Defense (DND) firefighters pushed, pulled and sprayed their way to more than a respectable finish at a grueling national competition held in September in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The Scott FireFit Championships are held every year to test the best of the best in firefighting across Canada and once again this year, military and civilian firefighters who work at CF bases across the country, entered several teams, including the official CF/DND national team that finished 12th overall out of some 60 teams.
About 20 CF/DND firefighters competed in several different competitions including the team, relay and individual events. The individual event was particularly grueling as it involved running up and down six flights of stairs in full firefighting gear weighing more than 50 pounds, pulling hose packs up to the top of the stairs, executing a forced entry with extreme precision, running through pylons, aiming a 200-pound charged hose at a target until it falls, and then dragging a 175-pound dummy backwards to the finish line.
Simon Robichaud, a rookie with only one year of service behind him as a civilian firefighter at CF Base (CFB) Valcartier, did all of that, earning a personal best time of 1:33, shaving 13 seconds off his previous time.
"It was great," says Robichaud. "I love competition so it was great to push myself and improve my personal best. Next year, I hope to finish even better."
"Simon ranked 30th overall in the men's division out of 173 participants," says Nicole Thomas, Research and Development Coordinator, Directorate of Human Performance and Health Promotion (DHPHP), CF Personnel Support Agency (CFPSA). "For a rookie, this is an incredible result."
Robichaud credits his excellent finish with the training he received at the University of Alberta this past summer, which also acted as the qualifying event for the national team. Every year, the CF Fire Marshal (CFFM) funds the camp under a Service Level Agreement with the CFPSA's Directorate of Human Performance and Health Promotion (DHPHP) - responsible for research and development of physical fitness standards and programs for the CF. The agency manages the team, runs the training camp, purchases its equipment, and selects the national team.
"Our team cannot train like other teams because our fire service is spread out across Canada," says Lieutenant-Colonel Gaétan Morinville, CFFM. "We rely on the experience and expertise of the CFPSA to help us deliver an exceptional training program to achieve the highest results in the shortest amount of time while they are together at the camp."
"This competition is a great opportunity to show our occupation to Canadians, to attract people to the Canadian Forces and to the Department, and to show that we can compete alongside our civilian counterparts," says LCol Morinville.
Denise Townshend, a civilian firefighter at CFB Petawawa who finished third in the women's over 40 category, found the training was exceptional and helped her achieve her great finish.
"Competitions like this can be excruciating and humbling," says Townshend. "And it's great to know that the CFFM appreciates and awards our hard work with the support they give in promoting the team in this event. The training camp offered by the CFFM at the University of Alberta was exceptional and we received very high calibre training."
Veteran to the CF/DND national team, Murray McCartney of CFB Gagetown, had another impressive finish, posting a personal best at 2:08, which earned him a 5th place finish in the men's over 50 category.
The CFFM enters a national team every year in the FireFit competition, as well as supports CF/DND base teams at the local-level competitions.
With a mandate to raise morale and encourage physical fitness, the CFPSA provides and promotes fitness, sport, and health programs for CF members in Canada and abroad, and thus, contributes to the operational readiness and effectiveness of the CF. For more information on the CFPSA, visit www.cfpsa.com.
