NZDF firefighters too hot for the competition

An NZDF team won the coveted Open Relay category at the UFBA National Firefighting Challenge at Odlins Plaza on the Wellington Waterfront this month.

Firefighters from across the country take part in the annual competition, which consists of individual and group categories. Running over two days, the challenge simulates the physical demands of fire-fighting, and gives the public a chance to see the skill and physical fitness that firefighting requires.

Competitors wear full structural firefighting gear and use a breathing apparatus set, and regardless of the category they compete in, they aim to complete the course within two minutes.

Beginning with a climb up a six-storey tower carrying a 19kg flaked hose, competitors must then pull another 18kg hose to the top of the tower, then race back down, hitting every step to hit a 70kg weight with a rubber hammer. The challenge concludes with a slalom, where competitors drag a charged fire hose through barn doors, shoot a target, and finally, drag an 80kg mannequin to the finish line.

Racing against their competitors and the clock, the combined Air Force and Army team; ‘Just in Time’, reached the championship final of the Open Relay, and completed the course with a winning time of just one minute 19 seconds.

Their result was impressive, given the Open Relay category allows up to five firefighters per team. In contrast, the winning NZDF team had just three firefighters; Sapper Aidan Grant, Sapper Jack Gardner and Corporal Bailey Campbell.

Sapper Grant explained that despite being smaller in size than the other teams, ‘Just in Time’ felt positive about their chance of winning.

“We were a bit short manned in our relay team, you can have up to 5, and most have 4, but a couple of people couldn’t be there because of work so we just had to run with three.”

“We were conscious we might not have the legs, especially in the later rounds of the competition as it’s quite a fast turnover, but we backed ourselves.”

It was Sapper Jack Gardner’s first time at the UFBA National Firefighting Challenge, and he said he got a huge kick out of competing at the finals.

“I didn’t have any nerves until I stepped up to the ledge and that’s when I got nervous. As a sport, it really sucks you in, it was awesome,” he said.

This was the fourth year that CPL Bailey Campbell, a Fire Instructor at Linton Military Camp has competed at the national challenge. He said their win went right down to the wire in the final round, with video footage used to determine the winning team.

“We knew it would be a challenge to hold our place with just three of us, but as the rounds progressed our finish times kept improving.”

“I’m pretty sure we are the first team to have won at the Open Relay with just three firefighters,” he added.  

Sapper Aidan Grant, who also finished in second place in the Open Male category, is no stranger to the challenge, having competed in the individual and open relay challenges since 2018. He said that experience, along with weeks of training, helped him prepare physically and mentally.

“The competition is heavy in the leg department, and when you come off the track, your legs are like jelly and your lungs are burning. But it has become easier in the last couple of years, because you’re more familiar with how your body will feel, you know what to expect,” he said.

In total, eleven firefighters from Base Auckland (Air Force) and Linton Military Camp (Army) took part in this year’s challenge.

NZDF hope to send a team to compete at the world firefighter championship in Stuart, Florida in October.