The inaugural “UAE International FireFit Championships” to happen alongside Intersec 2010, January 17 to 19
Published: 23 November, 2009
This year for the first time fire fighters from Canada and all seven Emirates will compete against each other in the UAE International FireFit Championships, a three-day event involving fire fighting and rescue challenges divided into six different categories. The event will run alongside Intersec 2010 and is supported by Dubai Civil Defence and organized by 911 Fire Fighting and FireFit Canada.
FireFit has developed and administered the FireFit Championships and fire fighter testing across Canada since 1994 and will bring the event to Dubai next year with the ultimate goal of creating a UAE FireFit series, in which Emirati fire fighters will compete against teams from all over the world.
FireFit and 911 Fire Fighting share a vision of a physically fit and healthy Fire Service across the UAE. Fitter fire fighters are able to perform their jobs better and will therefore be more productive, suffer fewer injuries at work and enjoy longer active careers.
The FireFit competition was developed to showcase and promote physical fitness of fire fighters and is about fire fighters carrying out their important work safely and more effectively. Teams of three to five fire fighters compete individually against the clock wearing full turnout gear (helmet, coat and trousers with liners, boots, and gloves) while breathing from Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).
Following a training camp in March 2009 in Dubai, a team of selected Emirati fire fighters successfully participated in the International Finals in Gaspe, Canada in September 2009. The team members have now created their own teams to compete against Canadian teams in the first UAE FireFit Championships alongside Intersec 2010 in Dubai.
The three-day challenges include the following six tasks which need to be completed as quickly as possible:
Task 1: Stair Climb
The contestant has to climb up stairs of a tower with a fire hose weighing 19kgs.
Task 2: Hose Hoist
A 20kgs hose is to be hauled up to the top of the tower.
Task 3: Forcible Entry
Contestants demonstrate forcible entry evolution utilizing a chopping simulator.
Task 4: Run
Competitors have to run distance of 43m around hydrants.
Task 5: Hose Advance
A fully charged hose has to be dragged over a distance of 23m and a target has to be hit with a water stream.
Task 6: Victim Rescue
A 80kgs simulation mannequin must be dragged backwards at a distance of 30m.
An acceptable time is 5 minutes and an excellent time is 3 minutes or less. Record times are currently under 2 minutes.
