Fire department ‘A’ team: Today’s challenge, Ramstein; tomorrow the ‘Worlds’

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Six firefighters from RAF Mildenhall - four U.S. military and two British Defence Fire Service - are in training for a challenge. But it's not just any old challenge - it's the Firefighter Combat Challenge World Challenge XIX (known as 'Worlds'), to be held in South Carolina in November.

And it's tough. Very tough.

Around 1,000 firefighters - mostly civilian - take part in the timed challenge, which encourages firefighter fitness, with little more than a handful of Department of Defense fire departments participating.

Wearing full protective gear and breathing apparatus, competitors race head-to-head - in both individual and relay events - as they simulate the physical demands of firefighting by performing a series of five tasks.

Those tasks include climbing a five-story tower with a fire hose on their shoulder, hoisting a donut hose from the ground to the top of the tower and knocking a 160-pound metal sled backwards five feet with a 9-pound mallet. Then comes pulling a pressurized hose more than 75-feet to a doorway, before hitting a target, and finally dragging a life-sized, 175-pound mannequin 100 feet backwards across the finish line.

As if that wasn't enough, all this must be done within the goal time of two minutes.

RAF Mildenhall last had a team in the competition in Las Vegas, Nev., in 2004. Since then, for various reasons there hasn't been an opportunity to have a team competing in the competition - until now.

Everyone from the last team has left, and there's new blood at the fire station - and this year's team members are taking their training very seriously.

Tech. Sgts. Corey Coleman and Adam Crowe, Airmen 1st Class Michael Alanis and Shayne Anglin, and DFS firefighters Ian Nicholls and Andy Hughes train four days a week, for a minimum of two hours at a time, all in preparation for the qualifier at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sept. 11.

With ages ranging from 21 to 43, the British-American team of new and more experienced firefighters will hopefully bring more of an international feel to the contest. At Ramstein they will compete against other teams from U.S. Air Forces in Europe. If they qualify there, it's all systems go, and training will be stepped up a notch before heading to the States to compete among the rest of the best fire departments.

All members of the RAF Mildenhall Firefighter Combat Challenge team are excited about the competition, both in Germany and the States, and say they are proud to be going there as the faces of RAF Mildenhall.

"It feels great, especially today, with our baseline being what it is -- under two minutes," said Sergeant Coleman. "We're going to show we're the best of the best, and we get to take just six guys to represent our entire fire department.

"The military is kind of like school," he added. "You represent your team, city or state. And for us to go to Ramstein - especially as part of our team is British - and represent Mildenhall there, is a great feeling," he said.

If the RAF Mildenhall team qualifies, they'll represent RAF Mildenhall, USAFE and the Department of Defense competing against more than 100 civilian fire departments.

As the youngest member of the team at just 21, Airman Anglin is one of the most competitive.

"I just want to compete again," he said. "I miss the competition from high school and college - I love sports."

As part of their regular training, each firefighter does a different piece of the relay, then all do each part and time each other.

They are lucky enough to be right next to the air traffic control tower, so they practice running the stairs in full protective gear, with a 47-pound hose pack on their shoulder.

Once the first person has run five stories, the next one is already on that floor, and to simulate a hose hoist he lifts two 45-pound weights alternately, for 10 repetitions each, then runs back down the stairs.

As that firefighter then tags the next, a metal sled is hammered backwards with a mallet to a marked point, and he then runs to tag the next guy, who has to run in and out of several cones before dragging a pressurized hose 100 feet, then discharging water to hit a target.

The final firefighter then drags the mannequin backwards to the finish line.

After a quick rest and water break, it's back to training as they take turns to running to the sixth floor of the tower, again with the hose pack on their shoulder. Those without the pack have to run to the eighth floor, then all run back downstairs again.

They repeat the process until each person has run up the stairs with the hose pack once, and all have run to the top of the tower and down again five times.

In addition to the strenuous training, the firefighters also regularly perform intense cardio workouts to get them in even better shape than they already have to be in.

It's tough, but if it gets them to the stateside contest, they are well aware it's worth the effort.

"It's a pretty awesome experience and I'm ready to represent Mildenhall so we can do our best," Sergeant Crowe said. "We'll also get to see where we stack up against the other fire departments."

This will be the first time the fire department has had British members in the combat challenge team, and though they're all on the same team, there's still friendly rivalry between the British and American firefighters.

"I want to prove that we can't be outdone by these Americans," laughed Firefighter Nicholls. "I'm almost too old, but I'm reliving my teens!"

The other British firefighter, Andy Hughes, certainly wasn't going to be outdone either.

"We don't want the Americans taking all the credit for the fire department," he joked.

The base fire chief, Chief Master Sgt. Charles Funkhouser, said he's happy they are able to put together a team this year, and even more so that the British guys are part of it.

"I think we've got the right people on the team as far as competitiveness goes," he said, adding "We will win! Losing is not an option - we will crush the opposition!"