One of the lingering memories from 9/11 and the World Trade Towers devastation is the vision of New York firefighters running the stairs in full gear in an attempt to save thousands of people. What kind of physical prowess that must have taken.
Local firefighters have initiated a program to encourage physical fitness in their respective departments. Based on competitive events held across the country, participants race the stairs in the University of Northern Iowa’s Dancer or Bender Halls high rise dormitories.
Cedar Falls Battalion Chief John Bostwick, 50, and firefighter Shane Farmer, 32, devised the challenge. Bostwick has been with the department 30 years. Farmer became a volunteer firefighter in 2001 and was offered a fulltime position in January of 2006.
“The challenge has its roots in a couple of events from around the country,” said Bostwick. “I recently went to Des Moines and competed in an event at the 801 Grand Building to climb 41 floors in fire gear. This was done to raise money for the American Lung Association. Another event that recently took place in Seattle had firefighters climbing 69 floors. That inspired us to do something locally.”
Totally voluntary, the local challenge offers three levels of difficulty to encourage participation. The least strenuous involves firefighters running the stairs in simple workout clothes. Level two has them racing in fire gear, or what they call “turn out” gear. The most difficult challenge has the runners in full gear while breathing from the air tanks they carry. Considering firefighters also may carry tools, such as axes, the weight of gear can amount to nearly 100 pounds.
Running in full turn out gear with the mask is difficult because “there is only so much air you can in-take at a time,” Bostwick said. “It puts you at a little oxygen deficit.”
The first challenge was held in April with about 10 firefighters participating, half wearing the air mask. There are 30 career Cedar Falls firefighters. The fastest person came in just under a minute. A second challenge is in the works.
Bostwick says there hasn’t been a mandatory physical fitness requirement for Cedar Falls firefighters. “However, it’s a young man’s game and if you don’t stay in shape, then you’re not going to be able to do the job.”
The Cedar Falls department recently changed the way it conducts its entrance exam, going to a standardized version of a firefighter fitness test called CPAT (Candidate Physical Ability Test). It measures the capabilities of recruits along the lines of eight specific areas firefighters need to be able to accomplish while on the job, including a stair climb, hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise, forcible entry, search, rescue drag and ceiling breach. The test this fall becomes part of a consortium of departments from across the state that will be doing the test together.
“Recruits will now have to pass this as part of their entrance exam,” Bostwick said. “We’ve always pushed the physical side of the job, though. What we’ve seen through our department is if we provide the opportunity for physical training, that has been sufficient for people.”
Farmer is the only fireman from Cedar Falls that has participated in the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge, seen on ESPN for a dozen years. It annually attracts hundreds of U.S. and Canadian municipal fire departments at more than 25 locations and is expanding to countries around the world. The Challenge encourages firefighter fitness and demonstrates the profession’s rigors to the public. It simulates the physical demands of real-life firefighting by performing a linked series of five tasks, including climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses, and rescuing a 175-pound “victim” as participants race against themselves, an opponent and the clock.
Farmer participated in two Challenges in July, one in Seattle and one in Fremont, Calif. In Seattle, he placed second in the co-ed and male paired divisions and fifth in the individual challenge. In Fremont, he placed seventh individually and first in the male tandem Challenge. He’s competed in about 25 Challenges over the last four years. He currently ranks ninth in the world.
“I saw the competition on ESPN when I was still a volunteer,” he said. “After my first competition I was hooked. I will continue to compete for the rest of my career. Physical fitness is a key component not only to our jobs, but our everyday life and overall health.”
Farmer says his first competition “had to be the hardest because I thought I knew what I was getting into, but I was wrong. It was by far the hardest physical thing I have ever done in my life.”
Cedar Falls fireman Jason Campbell, a military veteran, is in his eighth year in the profession, his fourth in Cedar Falls. He says he didn’t train a whole lot for the first stair climb on the UNI campus.
“After I did it, I thought I needed to train for it,” he said. “I found it was a lot harder to breathe than I thought it would be.”
Campbell trains on the station’s elliptical machine for half an hour, and runs two miles on the treadmill as often as possible. He also does cardio training and lifts weights. “But doing all that while on duty is kind of rough on the body, especially when you have to go out on a call.” The main station has been getting anywhere from eight to 10 calls a day recently, resulting in little down time.
Farmer says he does a lot of varied training, including weightlifting, stairs, endurance, cardio, “and basically anything painful I can think up.” His personal Combat Challenge record is 1:34.12, which is the state record. He has continued to improve his time each year, placing 28th in the world in 2007.
Bostwick says the Combat Challenge is difficult to train for and to spend the time and money to travel to events. Farmer has paid more than 75 percent of his expenses out of his own pocket. Some area businesses have donated funds in the past. His biggest support has come from his parents, co-workers’ personal donations and the Local 1366 Cedar Falls Firefighters.
Next year marks the 150th anniversary for the Cedar Falls Fire Department. Farmer is trying to get the Combat Challenge scheduled in Cedar Falls for 2010. “A competition here would bring in close to 500 people from across the U.S. and Canada,” he said. Anyone interested in sponsoring him personally or being part of a team to bring the Challenge locally is asked to contact Farmer at the main station on the corner of Main and 18th Streets.
Farmer also organized a charity 5K run during the local Sturgis Falls celebration. The proceeds go towards Cystic Fibrosis. Participating firefighters race in full gear.
“Why do I this? Why do I put my mind and body through this? The answer I come up with every time is because it makes me better at my job,” Farmer said. “I’ll do anything I can to make the job safer for myself and my fellow firefighters which in turn allows us all to live in a safer community.”
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