Over 100 firefighters and their families could descend upon Sackville next summer if the town agrees to play host to the annual Atlantic Firefit Championships, a competition widely known as the "toughest two minutes in sports."
Sandy MacQuarrie, a member of Sackville's Fire Department and coach of the team that represented the town at this year's event in Newfoundland, said the department has submitted a bid to host the Maritime event on July 18-19 and hopes the town will get on board to support the initiative.
"We're going up against Halifax and I think we can take 'em," MacQuarrie told members of town council during its monthly meeting last Wednesday night.
A typical Maritime draw for the two-day event, he said, would be about 100 participants, along with their families and friends.
MacQuarrie, who has helped organize the event in other communities, has participated in the event for a decade and this year brought home the gold medal in the 45-and-over division, completing the course in 2:04.
"It's such a camaraderie-building event," he said. "And I know that by bringing it into a small town, it just lights the town right up."
Costs to host the event are estimated at $20,000 but MacQuarrie insisted the town would benefit from the economic activity generated from the event.
"You'd have the firefighters and their families coming to town, staying here and eating at local restaurants . . ."
During the competition, firefighters battle it out on an intense obstacle course that tests their limits - both physically and mentally.
With full gear on, including their breathing apparatus, competitors carry a 42-pound hose pack on their shoulder and climb six flights of stairs; then they reach over and pull a 50-pound hose pack from the ground over the side of the staircase; next they head back down the stairs and execute a forcible entry with an eight-pound mallet; then they run a 120-foot serpentine pylon course; they pick up a charged hose line and drag it 70 feet; and finally, participants pick up a 175-pound Rescue Randy mannequin and drag it backwards 100 feet.
Sackville Fire Department seeks towns support to host Atlantic Firefit challenge
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Published on
October 22, 2008
- Published on March 5, 2010
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Katie Tower
Over 100 firefighters and their families could descend upon Sackville next summer if the town agrees to play host to the annual Atlantic Firefit Championships, a competition widely known as the "toughest two minutes in sports."
Sandy MacQuarrie, a member of Sackville's Fire Department and coach of the team that represented the town at this year's event in Newfoundland, said the department has submitted a bid to host the Maritime event on July 18-19 and hopes the town will get on board to support the initiative.
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