The Marine Institute was well represented at the recent Atlantic Regional FireFit competition in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A team representing the Marine Institute’s Safety and Emergency Response Training (SERT) Centre in Stephenville placed seventh overall out of 31 entries at the event, while individual team members also enjoyed personal success.

Craig Harnum, manager of the SERT Centre, earned second place in the Over-40 Division and grabbed 29th spot overall out of 129 participants with a time of one minute and 38 seconds. Kylie Tiller of the SERT Centre finished second in the women’s division by finishing in two minutes and 53 seconds.

Todd Ballah of SERT and Mark Poole of MI’s Offshore Safety and Survival Centre in Foxtrap finished with times of 1:43 and 1:48 respectively, each recording a personal best.

The strong showing by the Marine Institute team was a good indication of the quality of staff at the SERT Centre, according to Mr. Harnum, who adds this is not the first time MI has fared well at a FireFit competition.

“The event has put the SERT Centre on the map with a lot of fire departments in Canada. People see how hard we train and they know that goes into the training we offer,” he said. “When we go to provincial, regional and national competitions, there are hundreds of firefighters there and they all know who we represent. Because of the success we have had, MI is known from Vancouver to St. John’s as one of the top FireFit teams and of one the best firefighting schools in Canada.” 

FireFit competitions have athletes compete in a series of obstacles that simulate situations and surroundings firefighters tackle every day on the job. The course includes a number of challenges, including:

• A stair tower run, in which participants run up six stories carrying 45 pounds of hose line and an additional 45 pounds of hose on a rope.
• Next the athletes come down the tower and execute a forced entry by breaking through a door with a mall.
• Firefighters then run an obstacle course in which they drag a charged hose line 75 feet to a target they must then knock down with stream from the hose.
• To finish the course, firefighters then haul a 175-pound training dummy 100 feet to the finish line.

Throughout the competition, participants are dressed in full firefighter equipment, dawning 40 pounds of gear and a full size breathing apparatus.

“It’s an awfully demanding sport. A lot of people will try it, but they’ll either love it and continue competing or they’ll hate it and quit after their first time,” said Mr. Harnum. “It’s not something you just come out and do, you have to build up for the event.”

Members of the SERT team train 12 months of the year for FireFit competitions. From October to May they train indoors, using treadmills and lifting weights. In the spring and summer, they utilize the training tower and other facilities located at the SERT Centre.

“The training is hard, but it’s been very rewarding for us, the Marine Institute and SERT,” he said. “At the Atlantic championship, there were 18 SERT graduates, now working fire service in Eastern Canada, competing against us. It was great to see that our former students utilizing the training provided by the Marine Institute and it spoke volumes about the type of graduates coming out of the SERT Centre.” 

The SERT team is now preparing for the FireFit national championship in Brampton, Ontario in September.