By ASHLEY TRUJILLO
Daily Press Staff Writer
After qualifying for the World Championships in the Firefighter Combat Challenge, five Artesia firefighters are preparing for an intense international competition.
“It’s definitely earned its title as the toughest two minutes in sports,” Toby Bratcher, one of the competitors, said.
During those “tough two minutes” firefighters work against the clock in full bunker gear on a course that tests both their strength and stamina.
The team, which includes firefighters Bratcher, Alfredo Garcia, Marcus Teets, Kyle Luginbyhl and Darryl Fedric, compete both as a team and individually in a five-event course. The competition includes carrying a 42-pound hose up six flights of stairs, hoisting a 49-pound load up the side of a tower and using a nine-pound hammer to hit a 160-pound metal block in a chopping simulator event. Firefighters must also drag a hose line 75 feet, avoiding obstacles along the way, and then swing through metal doors to hit a target with a water stream. Finally, the competitor must drag a 180-pound rescue dummy a distance of 100 feet. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
