Corner Brook’s deputy fire chief Craig Harnum was thinking about putting his bunker suit away after he and Wayne George won silver in the tandem event at the 2017 national FireFit Challenge in Ottawa.
He had a change of heart, however, when he got the great news that the Corner Brook Fire Department have been approved as host of a regional FireFit Challenge July 27-29 in Corner Brook.
Related stories:
Corner Brook firefighters team up for silver in tandem event at national Firefit Challenge
Corner Brook firefighters claim second in relay at Firefit Championships
Harnum is joining forces with a handful of fellow firefighters to test their mettle against firefighters from Newfoundland and the Atlantic provinces with hopes of earning a trip to the national FireFit Challenge.
There are also a couple of teams out of Ontario and one out of British Columbia which have expressed a desire to attend the FireFit event in the west coast city.
It is expected that 20-25 teams will compete so Harnum figures there will be more than 200 people converging on the city when guests and support staff are taken into consideration.
The event is a friendly competition based on six firefighting tasks commonly performed in emergency situations. Firefighters will have to complete five fireground tasks — tower climb, hose pull, ventilator simulator, hose drag and dummy/rescue drag.
Harnum believes it will be a fun event where spectators will get a chance to mingle with firefighters and get a sense of the training they require to be effective at protecting the people they serve when it comes to safety.
It’s a friendly event with fire engines on display and a children’s challenge where the youngsters can have some fun, but he also knows his firefighters will be anxious to be at their best because they will want bragging rights against firefighers from CBS and St. John’s to name a few.
“There’s a lot of community pride and department pride,” he said.
Corner Brook firefighters Harnum, Wayne George, Alex Hillier, Matthew Boudreau and Alex Way won silver in the relay event at the 2017 Scott FireFit Newfoundland Championships held at the Robert French Memorial Stadium in Conception Bay South to earn a trip to the national Firefit Challenge in Ottawa.
