Sixteen Apopka firefighters traveled to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri over the weekend. Not to fight fires on their days off but to compete against fire departments from around the country at the 2016 Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge. The Apopka firefighters did well and several qualified to compete next month in Montgomery, Alabama at the World Challenge.
Apopka Engineer/Paramedic Renee Beasley qualified for the World Competition with a time of 4:18. She also won First Place Overall in the Women’s Division.
Watch this amazing video to fully appreciate this accomplishment.
Renee was not the only Apopka Firefighter to qualify for the 25th Annual World Competition in Birmingham, Alabama next month.
Scott Harrell also qualified for the World Competition in the 40 and over age division with a time of 2:08.
And Apopka took 3rd place overall in the Team Competition. The team consisted of:
Finally, Apopka also took the top 5 places in the Newcomer division which had 36 entrants. The Top 5 Newcomers and their times were:
The competition consist of wearing 80 pounds of fire gear while climbing 4 stories with a 45-pound hose pack, hoisting 45 pounds of hose up a tower with a rope, slugging away with a sledge hammer to move a 60-pound block 6 feet, dragging a fire hose full of water for 100 feet and then finishing by dragging a 180-pound manikin 100 feet. The best time wins.
Apopka firefighters have been training for months, getting together on weekends and other off-times at the Leroy F. Gilliam Training Center to practice each of the competition events.
Use this link to see photos of Apopka firefighters training for the event.
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