Peterson firefighters continue support for brush fire

(Front to back) Staff Sgt. Daniel Bernal and Airman Adam Peterson, 21st Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Protection Flight firefighters, prepare to refill one of several fire engines responding to a fire south of the runway July 11 outside Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. The fire, which occurred outside of Peterson, required three fire departments to extinguish. Peterson firefighters are trained to suppress fires involving aircraft, buildings, automobiles and wild land. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Jessica Switzer)

Peterson firefighters heading to competition

Published Aug. 6, 2008
By Corey Dahl
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Some of Peterson's finest athletes are packing their bags, fine tuning their gear, getting in a few last practices before the big games begin on Aug. 8 in ... Oklahoma.

Okay, so it's not Beijing and it's not the Olympics. But the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron's fire department here is sending a six-person team to the Central U.S. Firefighter Challenge Aug. 8 and 9 in Altus, Okla.

The firefighters will face off with dozens of other fire departments in tasks that test firefighting-related skills. Team members will have to run a challenging course that requires them to climb a five story tower while carrying a 45-pound pack, simulate a forcible entry using a 160-pound block and rescue a 175-pound "victim," among a variety of other tasks.

The firefighters will be racing their opponents as well as the clock - the course can take no longer than six minutes, and most competitors are expected to finish in less than two minutes.

"It's a tough course," said Tech. Sgt. Jerry Reynolds, a physical training leader with the fire department. "We've been practicing for months."

The team has spent the last two to three months training on a course similar to the one used in the challenge. Though only the team is traveling to the competition, all members of the fire department have been encouraged to train on the course, Sergeant Reynolds said.

"A lot of people come out and do the course, even if they're not going to the challenge," he said. "It's been good physical training for us."

The Firefighter Challenge program, which holds competitions throughout the year in various locations worldwide, has long attracted Air Force teams, but this is the first year Peterson will send a team to a competition. Even though they're rookies, Sergeant Reynolds said he's hoping the team will do well.

"We want to get Peterson on the map," Sergeant Reynolds said. "[And] have our fire department represented."