Spangdahlem firefighters compete in European FFCC

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Benjamin Wilson
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
BERLIN, Germany --  Six firefighters from Spangdahlem Air Base's 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron recently went to Berlin, Germany, to compete in the fourth annual Berlin Firefighter Combat Challenge.

The Berlin competition is the European championship and counts as a qualifying round for the World FFCC in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The competition consists of an obstacle course that is specifically designed to test the physical fitness of a firefighter.

In 1991, the first competition was hosted in the Washington, D.C. area with the council of governments, and only five fire stations participated, said Doctor Davis, FFCC creator. Then, in 1992 the event was sponsored and started a national tour.

"I was at the University of Maryland, Sports Medicine Center and we had a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to look at a physical abilities test for firefighters; that was 1975-76," Doctor Davis said, FFCC creator. "Then, in '90 we started looking at an initiative for firefighter fitness and the idea of turning this physical abilities test into a competition was sort of the launching pad."

Since the beginning, the tour has grown to include more than 20 events in the U.S. and qualifying rounds for the world event in Europe, Asia, South America and Australia; all competing on the same rigorous course.

While running through the obstacles, the competing firefighter first runs up six flights of stairs to a height of more than 40 feet while carrying a hotel pack, which is a bundle of hose weighing about 45 pounds. Once on the tower, a second hotel pack must be hoisted from the ground using a rope. Then the firefighter descends the stairs hitting every step on the way, before using a sledge hammer to move a keiser sled - a 100-pound weight on rails - about five feet. Next the competitor runs through a slalom of cones and picks up a hose, dragging it 75 feet and accurately spraying a target. Finally, the firefighter must drag a 185-pound dummy backward a distance of 100 feet to the finish line.

Gerd Mueller, 52nd CES firefighter crew chief, has been participating in competitions like this one for eight years and led the Spangdahlem team.

"It's very time consuming and a lot of training," Mr. Mueller said. "You want to be in top shape to come here."

The team has been training at a similar obstacle course on Spangdahlem Air Base for months leading up to the competition, Trying to get money and time off to train seemed to be biggest challenges.

A few years ago the Air Force was willing to fund the team to attend the competition, but this year the firefighters had to raise the funds through sponsors and fundraisers, as well as coordinate leave to go to Berlin and represent Spangdahlem in Europe, Mr. Mueller said.

With the months of preparation behind them, the team members had high expectations for the competition.

Staff Sgt. Chastin Warner, 52nd CES fireman, said he was shooting for top three in the individual event, but believed Spangdahlem could take first place this year.

Mr. Mueller said he wanted to win his age group since he has won it the last two years. He was the European champion for the over-forty category and was hoping he could do it again.

Though the team's goals were high, they knew the competition would be fierce.

The biggest competition this year, besides his teammates being as quick as they are, is Berlin Team-1, Sgt. Warner said. The competition was on its home ground and trained year-round.

After sign-up on day one, the Spangdahlem firemen were ready to compete against 15 other relay teams and more than 235 individual competitors from six European countries.

(Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles about Spangdahlem firemen competing in Berlin.)