FireFit competition largest event in Canada

By Dave Flaherty/The Oshawa Express

Hundreds of firefighters from across Canada and the U.S. will congregate to Oshawa’s Legends Centre this weekend for the SCOTT Firefit Championships.

This is the second year that Oshawa has hosted the event, which serves as a regional qualifier for the Canadian National Championships, slated for Ottawa on Sept. 6 to Sept. 10.

Matthew Baca, an member of Oshawa Fire Services and a competitor, says with 250 participants expected for Aug. 26 and 27, the event will be bigger and better than last year.

“Last year, our event sold out and it was one of the biggest in the region with about 150 competitors,” Baca says. “This year we will become Canada’s largest event ever.”

The weekend features a variety of individual, tandem and team performances, all which offer unique challenges to the competitors.

For instance, the individual stage requires competitors to scale a five-storey tower while carrying a 45-lb bundle of fire hose and then hoist a donut roll to the top the tower.

Once the competitor makes their way back down to ground level, they must replicate forcible entry on a chopping simulator with an axe. Once this is completed, the competitor runs through 140-foot relay course, then grabbing a fully charged firehose and dragging it 75 feet, after which they then are required to hit a designated target with the water flow.

To ultimately complete the challenge, the competitor must drag a 165-lb mannequin a distance of 100 feet to the course finish line.

“The competition really shows the different daily tasks we have,” Baca says. “It shows the physical capabilities of firefighters.”

Baca says there will be competitors ranging from college students to firefighters in their 60s, with the level of dedication and preparation all depending on the individual.

“There are competitors of all different levels. There are of your casual competitors who do it just to stay in shape, so their training may vary. They might do some gym stuff and some course training, but really they just show up to have fun,” Baca says. “For the serious competitors such as myself, I spent the entire winter doing a lot of lifting and training. Then when the (Firefit competition) season approaches, we actually set up a mock course and we’ll do specific training just for the event to see how fast and hard we can push ourselves.”

And while there is a will to win for all competitors, Baca says “the whole thing is really about promoting health, fitness and cheering each other one.”

“You might have one of the fastest people in the world [in the competition] and they are just as willing to help the person who might be starting out at a different point.”

For Baca, the competition also signifies the camaraderie and fellowship in the firefighting community.

“You develop of a lot friendships. I know myself that I’ve been able to travel the world and met a lot of people,” he states. “There is a big sense of camaraderie. Even in the off-season, many competitors stay in touch and get together.”

Members of the public are welcomed to witness the spectacle of the competition, as the event is free to attend all weekend.

“If people would like to donate they are more than welcome,” Baca says. “We will have a ton of vendors and a mini-course set up for the kids, among many other things.”

Oshawa’s FireFit Competition also serves as a fundraiser for the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation of Canada, which provides funding, equipment and educational opportunities to first responders and public safety organizations.

“It’s a good way to show off our city as well, how it is growing…we do have quite a few competitors from Oshawa so we kind of showcase ourselves as well,” Baca says.

Oshawa has applied to host the 2019 nationals and Baca is very optimistic that the bid will be successful.

“It looks very promising. From what we’ve heard back, it’s gone great and people really love it. We are really pushing for the 2019 national championships.”

For more information, including a schedule of events, visit oshawa.on.ca or the event’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/oshawafirefit/