Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Ben Akins of the Charleston (Illinois) Fire Department, left, makes the handoff to Steve Kotch of the Camp Robinson (Arkansas) Fire Department as they compete in the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championship at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023.
The U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championship is returning to Hoover for the second straight year this week (Sept. 25-28) in the parking lot at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
And on the day before the national competition — Tuesday, Sept. 24, Alabama firefighters take the stage in the Alabama Fire Service Showdown.
The Alabama competition is expecting 47 firefighters from 12 fire departments across the state, and the national championship event has 158 firefighters from 73 fire departments in 24 states registered, said Russell Jackson, a former Hoover firefighter who is CEO of the First Responder Institute, which organizes the event.
The firefighters compete in events that simulate the physical demands of real-life firefighting, such as climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-size, 175-pound “victim” as they race against opponents and a clock.
Competitors wear full turnout gear and self-contained breathing apparatuses as they compete in individual, two-person (tandem) and five-person (relay) events. Participants will be divided into developmental, competitive and pro divisions and will compete in brackets based on age and gender. The winners will be declared national champions.
Firefighters must qualify at regional events across the country to compete at the national competition.
The national competition starts with qualifying rounds for individual competitors on Wednesday and Thursday. The tandem and relay competitions are Thursday and Friday, and individual championships will be Saturday morning.
The competitions will be in the parking lot in front of the Hoover Met, with the competition course taking up an area 260 feet long by 150 feet wide, Jackson said. The public is invited to watch the competitions for free, but they also will be streamed online so the firefighters’ friends and families back home can watch. Last year’s national competition drew 1.2 million viewers, he said.
Last year’s overall male champion was Jared Johnson, a 36-year-old firefighter from Austin, Texas, who won his fourth national championship by completing the course in 1 minute, 19.47 seconds — about 5 seconds shy of the world record. The second-place finisher was Jake Lanier, 36, of the Pelham Fire Department, who was about half a second behind Johnson and who was world champion in 2019.
Lanier said he’s been competing in the Firefighter Challenge competitions since 2013. He’s always been a competitive person and enjoys competing not only against people from all over the world, but also against himself, he said.
“It also helps keep you physically fit and ready for duty,” he said.
He works out about 4-5 times a week and, when he’s preparing for a competition, trains on the firefighter course usually twice a week, he said. His favorite part is the tower climb. “It’s real difficult, but I like it.”
The top female winner last year was Brittany Hoffman of Wheeling, West Virginia, with a time of 2 minutes, 13.88 seconds.
Ana Ruzevic, a Vestavia Hills firefighter who was the national female champion in 2019 and 2021 and part of a world tandem championship team last year, plans to compete again at nationals in Hoover this year.
Ruzevic qualified for nationals by winning second place in her age division and third place overall for women in the Northeast Regional for the Firefighter Challenge in Exton, Pennsylvania, in July, and is looking forward to nationals again, she said.
With Tropical Storm Helene threatening to turn into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, organizers will be keeping an eye on the weather, Jackson said. If it rains, most of the competitors are accustomed to competing in the rain, but if winds get too heavy, the tower has to come down, he said. Also, the competition will pause for lightning, he said.
As of Monday afternoon, the heaviest threat of rain is on Thursday, according to the Weather Channel.
Here’s the schedule:
Alabama Fire Service Showdown
- Tuesday, Sept. 24, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championship
- Wednesday, Sept. 25: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. - Wildcard qualifying rounds for individual categories
- Thursday, Sept. 26: 8 a.m.-noon - Wildcard qualifying rounds for individual categories; 12:30-4 p.m. - Tandem championships
- Friday, Sept. 27: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. - Relay championships
- Saturday, Sept. 28: 9 a.m.-noon - Individual championships
