FireFit is coming to INTERSCHUTZ. For the first time ever, elite firefighters from around the world can battle it out at the FireFit Championships at INTERSCHUTZ. Thoses keen on competing can register starting tomorrow. For last-minute contenders, the organizers have also set aside a limited number of starting spaces for each day of the competition. Registrations for these spaces are only being taken on site at the venue.
The FireFit Championships course at INTERSCHUTZ comprises five firefighting tasks that will take contestants to the limits of their strength and endurance. The first task is the Stair Climb, in which contestants, in full turnout kit, race up a HAIX stair tower – that’s three flights of steps and a total height of 12 meters – carrying a 19 kg high-rise hose pack. Once at the top, it’s time for the Hose Hoist, in which the contestants must haul an additional hose pack up from the ground on a rope as fast as they can and then race back down to the bottom. Next up there’s the Forcible Entry simulation using a chopping simulator. Task four, the highlight, is the Run, in which contestants must complete a slalom course and drag a charged fire hose over a set distance. The final task is the Victim Rescue, which involves moving an 80 kg dummy over a prescribed distance. The championships comprises three events: Individual, Tandem, and Relay (for teams of between three and five contestants).
Online registrations for the championships are opening at 4 p.m. CET on Saturday, 4 January. Full details and the registration form are available at firefit-interschutz.de – registrations close one week before the start of INTERSCHUTZ. After the close of the registration period, a limited number of starting spaces will be reserved for each category for firefighters who spontaneously decide they would like to compete. Registrations for these spaces will only be taken on site at the exhibition grounds.
The FireFit Championships will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on all six days of INTERSCHUTZ. They will be held in the area in front of the stairs at the East entrance. The qualifying rounds for the European Championships will be held on days one through four, and the finals will be held on days five and six. A medal ceremony will be held on each day for that day’s winners.
The FireFit Championships were originally developed in Canada and are modeled on the core tasks performed by firefighters in their daily work. The very first FireFit Championships were held in Vancouver in 1994. The organizing team for the FireFit European Championships at INTERSCHUTZ is made up of teams from Betriebssportverband (BSV) Hannover e.V., HAIX (the Haix Wild 50’s) and FireFit of Canada Ltd.