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| (Left) Staff Sgt. Dion Bullock of the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Station at Royal Air Force Lakenheath England makes his way around the cones during a relay through an obstacle course at the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Firefighter Combat Challenge held at the 435th Construction and Training Squadron Saturday. (Right) Airman 1st Class Gabriel Villenueva, a Rhein-Main firefighter drags a 185 pound dummy during the obstacle. Firefighters from throughout USAFE competed in the challenge. (See story on Page 9) |
Looking up at the sky through a fogging face mask, he cringes in pain. As the dummy’s ankles cross the finish line he collapses backwards onto the safety mattress, the 185 pound dummy pinning him down – Panting, he wonders if he crossed the finish line fast enough.
“It’s all mental,” said firefighter Airman 1st Class Bill Strauss, a firefighter with 435th Civil Engineering Squadron who finished with a qualifying time of 2:09. “It’s the hardest to push at the end. When your body’s giving out you gotta keep on pushing.”
Airman Strauss competed in the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Firefighter Combat Challenge held at the 435th Construction and Training Squadron Saturday.
“The mission for the Firefighter Challenge is to promote and showcase firefighter fitness,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Higgins, Instructor at the USAFE Fire Academy and an official at the Firefighter Challenge. “Firefighters have to be in shape just like any professional athlete. It’s a world class event with world class athletes.”
The competitors have been training year round for the opportunity to show off their physical ability and firefighter adeptness. Those who score individual times less than 2:20, qualify to compete at the World Championship this November in Las Vegas.
We’ve been working out together as a team at the gym in our air packs, running on treadmills and strength training to get ready, said Airman Strauss.
It’s easy to see why ESPN calls the challenge “the toughest two minutes in sports.” The five-event course pushes firefighters to their physical limits. Tasking them to run stairs with a high raise pack, hoist hoses, simulate forcible entries, and drag a 185 pound victim 100 feet, all while equipped in full protective gear and breathing from an air tank.
“You have to try to save yourself for the end,” said Airman 1st Class Joe Almony, a firefighter from the 52nd CES at Spangdahlem Air Base.“The Victim Rescue really determines your time. You can’t do it without your team.”
All five teams from USAFE – Royal Air Force Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath, Rhein Main Air Base, Spangdahlem Air Base, and Ramstein Air Base – qualified for World Championships with times under seven minutes. RAF Mildenhall placed first in the team relay, while Spangdahlem had the three best individual times, placing them in first for the team competition. Now it will be up to the individual squadrons to decide whether to go to the world event.
***image3***This was the first year that 20 German and Austrian civilians from local fire departments participated in the USAFE competition. Six civilian firefighters even qualified for the individual event, without ever practicing on the course.
“It hurts. In your legs, in your lungs. It hurts,” said Frankfurt firefighter Kay Lennartz, who had the fastest time among civilians, 2:12, and was excited to be competing.
“It’s good to see our guys fighting for and against each other. As a fireman you can go anywhere in the world and you’ll be accepted as a brother,” he said.
