The mettle of three Porirua volunteer firefighters will be tested when they compete for a national title next month.Matt Vendt, David Knowles and Tai Kairua head to Christchurch for the Firefighter Combat Challenge on October 1.
The event is known as the toughest two minutes in sport.
The two-day event, comprised of five challenges and organised by the United Fire Brigade Association, is described as the ultimate contest for Kiwi firefighters.
Wearing full bunker gear and breathing apparatus, teams must:
* Undertake a six-storey climb carrying a 19-kilogram length of hose
* Hoist another hose coil six storeys
* Chop a beam with a shot hammer and drive it 1.5 metres
* Use a charged length of hose to knock down a disc with water
* Drag a 90kg dummy 30m to the finish.
Mr Vendt says the challenges in the competition simulate the physical demands of real-life firefighting.
“Sometimes we’ll be in the middle of training and we’ll get a call out and have to cut it short.
“But that’s all good training too, plus it gets the adrenaline pumping,” he says.
“We’ve got a couple more sessions before the challenge so that should put us on line for the competition.”
The trio have about nine years’ firefighting experience between them and “are looking to bring home the title”, he says.
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