Tough Stuff: Firefighter

Firefighters Mobile Fire Rescue Department Mobile firefighters put their lives on the line every time that alarm bell rings. Training requires both physical fitness and mental strength.

by Chad Petri

Published: Thu, May 22, 2008 - 6:00 am CST Last Updated: Thu, June 12, 2008 - 2:33 pm CST

Firefighters put their pants on one leg at a time, except theirs are fire proof and heavily insulated.
I'm getting suited up to take on the firefighter combat challenge. It's an obstacle course every recruit has to run in the shortest time possible.

“This is an opportunity in a controlled situation to be able to try and prepare our recruits to prepare for the fatigue they will experience at a fire,” says Captain Walt Riley.

Before we start, they take my vitals to make sure I'm okay.

“We like to get an initial set of vitals and a post set so we can get a comparison and kind of see the workload we've applied to the body and the heart and the circulatory system,” says Fire Service Captain Shaun Hicks.

The crew fits me with all the gear I need, including an oxygen tank. I start psyched, but the real world quickly sets in. I begin at the base of a building with a hose pack. I hoof it up several flights of stairs. At the top you pull up a hose on a rope, already I'm starting to weaken. After racing back down I grab my mallet. I rapidly pound on a piece of metal to move it a few feet. This is supposed to recreate a forced entry. It's around here where my body starts to give. Firefighters say you have to stop your mind from telling you to give-up.

“Get those things out of your mind and focus solely on the task that needs to be performed,” says Captain Riley.

I gingerly make my way through the cone zigzag in an attempt to catch my breath. Next I have to drag this hose from one end of the lot to the other and blast another cone. The final task is the most challenging. I have to drag a 175 pound dummy from one end of the parking lot to the other. I can’t seem to muster the strength to do it and that’s when I’m pulled out. This is where I learned firefighters face more danger from the stress of the job than a towering inferno.

“We think about ff being trapped and dying but heart attacks and strokes are very common because we do stress our bodies so much,” says Riley.

I collapse and the guys peel the gear off me because I just don't have the juice left. My vitals are checked for a second time and they let me rest.

My time was six minutes, most firefighters, like Captain Kermet Watson have to pound through the course in about 2 minutes. Recruits are trained for five months before graduating. With 50 pounds of gear on your back, they've got to be made of the toughest stuff.

“Everyone has their different limitations and some point and time you can't go anymore but when we talk about heart and that drive is the ability to not tell your mind to stop,” says Riley.

Watch the other stories in Chad's Tough Stuff series:

Tough Stuff: ZooKeeper

Tough Stuff: Tiny Diny

Tough Stuff: Auto Mechanic

Do you have a job that you think is Tough Stuff? Email us at mornings@wkrg.com. Chad may try his hand at your job in a future Tough Stuff series!

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