Using a 9-pound shot mallet to move a beam, Bruce Power Firefit team member, Donnie Mertes completes a Forcible Entry task by moving the beam across a line before he is able to move onto the next part of the challenge.
Hub Staff
The Bruce Power Firefit team has been training hard at Bruce Power’s new state of the art Emergency and Protective Service Training Facility (EPSTF) ahead of their upcoming season. The team has entered three regional Scott FireFit competitions, with the hopes of qualifying for the Canadian Nationals in Calgary, Alberta in September.
“They say it's the toughest two minutes in sports,” said Bruce Power FireFit Team Captain, Justin Clarke. “It is absolutely excruciating. It’s both mental and physical, but the competition and the camaraderie is kind of what brings people back,” the Captain said.
The Scott Firefit competition will return to Saugeen Shores, taking place alongside the Bruce Power Beach Party July 15 to 17, replicating the competition that occurred during the Labour Day long-weekend September 4 through 6, 2015 at the Port Elgin Harbour. There will be a Regional in-house competition for local fire teams, participating alongside four Bruce Power teams, on Friday, July 15.
Related: Saugeen Shores and Bruce Power hosts Firefit championships
Gary Smith, Section Manager, Emergency and Protective Services (EPS) for Bruce Power said that the competition allows firefighters to showcase their talents. “The in-house competition (July 15), allows us to show-off for our families and have some fun,” Smith said. He added that on Saturday, July 16, there will be corporate competition with the “top cheese” and “VP’s” competing in the course against members of Bruce Power’s EPS.
On July 16 and 17, the Port Elgin Harbour will play host to the Scott Firefit Western Ontario Regional Competition, featuring firefighters competing from all over Ontario and Canada. Individual firefighters will compete during Saturday, with team relays occurring on Sunday.
The Scott Firefit course features a six-story stair climb with a high-rise pack and a 4-foot bundle of 4-inch hose weighing 42 pounds. From the top of the tower, using a hand over hand motion, the competitor must pull a 5/8-inch rope to hoist a donut roll of LDH hose, weighting 42 pounts. The competitor must then descend the tower to start the Forcible Entry task. The Force Machine has the competitor using a Cook 9-pound shot mallet to move a beam. This Task is complete when the end of the beam crosses the line.
From there, the competitor will run 140-feet around hydrants as fast as they can, then will be handed a 1.75-inch fully charged hoseline. The hose advance competitor will then carry the hoseline and drag it 75 feet. Once the nozzle crosses the 75-foot mark, the competitor hits a designated target with the stream of water. The last task features Randy, the 165-pound rescue victim that the final competitor must drag backwards a distance of 100 feet.
Clarke said that some teams across Ontario have the exact set up of the course at their home stations however, the new EPSTF located on site at Bruce Power provides a great training facility for the team.
“This building has allowed us to train all year long. We have stairs we can run here, we can do our rope pull in the stairwell, we have open spaces to do a dummy drag or sled pull,” Clarke said of the 25 million dollar facility that took 18 months to build.
Gary Smith added that it replicates a lot of things inside the Industrial Power Plant. “It allows us to train to facility's needs, the nice thing about this (EPSTF) is we can do high angel training, mock-ups with a turbine generator (features a 1/3 replica) and pumps. There are so many aspects to this building.” Smith added that the facility is used by both security staff and firefighters.
The Bruce Power Firefit team will need three competitors to have average individual times under 1:50 to qualify for the Canadian Nationals in Calgary. Captain Justin Clarke hasn’t competed in an individual race in three seasons but would like to beat his personal best of 1:36 this summer, with a desired finish of 1:30.
Training in Bruce Power’s Emergency and Protective Service Training Facility for the upcoming Scott Firefit Regionals, on the left, team member Donnie Mertes pulls Randy, a 165 pound rescue victim, 100 feet during training. On the right, Bruce Power Firefit team member, Josh Ironmonger simulated the 140-foot run. The competition will be taking place throughout Ontario this summer.
Gary Smith, Section Manager, Emergency and Protective Services (left) with Bruce Power Firefit team members Donnie Mertes, Captain Justin Clarke and Josh Ironmonger (right), during a training session May 18 at the Emergency and Protective Service Training Facility.
The Bruce Power Emergency and Protective Service Training Facility took 18 months to complete and is used to train Bruce Power Security and its 150 on-site firefighters.
