EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- It’s hotter than a summer day in Texas and with every step taken your legs feel more like jelly.
This may sound like a day in hell, but for some firefighters it’s a day in their office.
From October 24 to 26, six members of the Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, fire department competed in the 2016 Scott Safety Firefighter Combat Challenge world competition.
The SSFCC is one of the most difficult challenges there is in sports; it is made up of six different events that put a firefighter’s functional abilities to the test.
“The SSFCC is known as ‘the toughest two minutes in sports,’ and it’s not an exaggeration,” Staff Sgt. Christopher Johnson a 354th Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter, said with a laugh. “On our first run my legs collapsed and I fell down with the dummy.”
The Eielson team placed 31 out of 75 teams from around the globe its first time competing, also distinguishing themselves as the second best Department of Defense team there.
“I got a chance to talk to some of the guys from Carlsbad, New Mexico, the team that set the world record,” said Johnson. “They gave us some tips and told us that our first run was super impressive.”
The SSFCC is a physically demanding course that helps firefighters improve in different situations they may run into while doing their job.
“At any time we can end up running out to somewhere like the Central Heat and Power Plant and before you know it we’re walking upstairs and checking equipment at 2 a.m.,” said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Wyatt, a 354th Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter. “We have to maintain some level of physical fitness, and this has been a good method of performing that.”
The toughest two minutes in sports was able to do more than make sure our firefighters are fit to fight, it also helps them become more comfortable doing their job.
“The one thing you’ll get if you don’t take anything else away from it is that you’ll wear your firefighting gear like a second skin,” said Johnson. “There’s no more of being on the call and worrying ‘is this or that going to be in the way.’ I don’t even think about my gear anymore, its second nature to have it on now.”
To prepare for the SSFCC the Eielson team trained vigorously for eight months leading to the competition. Those eight months provided different training and team building opportunities.
“When you’re training for seven or eight months and people don’t necessarily see the end objective it’s hard to maintain a good bond,” said Wyatt. “I think even more than the fact that we did a good job and made good times, we came together as a team. That’s a bigger win than anything else.”
The team performed well for a first-time entrant at this year’s world competition, and the firefighters will keep pushing forward preparing for next year.
“We bonded quite a bit, we got focused and our goals are the same now so we’ll be better next year,” said Wyatt.