Air Force Academy firefighter Bill Gates drags a 175-pound rescue dummy at the 2013 World Firefighter Combat Challenge course's final event while assistant fire chief Ron Prettyman cheers him on. (Air Force Photo)
A team of Air Force Academy firefighters will take on colleagues from around the globe this month during the World Firefighter Combat Challenge in Alabama.
The annual event pits firefighters against the clock in tasks they use on the job. They haul hoses, use a sledgehammer to simulate breaking down a door, drag a dummy to safety and shoot water for accuracy.
The academy is a world power on this firefighting stage, with a string of championships since 2002.
Academy Fire Chief Ken Helgerson said competing makes his department better on the job.
"The skills they use as part of the course translate to structural firefighting," he said. "It is the same things they have to do on the job."
Firefighters need to be strong for the events, which include racing up stairs with a hose and dragging a 175-pound mannequin. Senior Airman Daniel Garcia, new to the team for 2015, said he has noticed a difference on the job after training for the competition.
"You feel the stamina," he said. "The strength is there."
Academy fire Lt. Anthony McMurtry said getting new airmen on the team brings energy for older competitors.
"It helps work the kinks out," he said.
McMurtry, whose nickname is "Tank," has won world championships and is on pace to top the competition for firefighters over 40 this year. He said the physical challenge of the competition will help keep firefighters alive.
"The No. 1 killer of firefighters is heart disease," noting that exercise is the best way to fend off heart trouble.
But the academy's string of world championships is making the competition tougher by the year, he said.
Other teams will give an extra effort against academy competitors during the Oct. 19-24 event in Montgomery, Ala., he said.
"We always get everybody's best punch" he said.
Air Force Academy fire department firefighter Roy Dalton (left) takes the baton from academy fire chief Ken Helgerson during a relay event at the 2013 World Firefighter Combat Challenge in Las Vegas. (Air Force Photo)
