Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge

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Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge

The Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge was billed as the one of the main events of the The Burn Institute's 19th Annual Viejas FIRE EXPO/Firefighter Combat Challenge, which was held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego, California on Saturday, June 20th, 2009. The competition itself has been called the toughest two minutes in sports, and is held in various cities throughout the United States throughout the year.

Dave Valeo, a firefighter from El Paso, TX, has been competing in the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge for the past fifteen years, with a personal best time of 1 minute and 45 seconds. He said, "All of this becomes really competitive, and we try to remind each other that it's the camaraderie that comes first. The purpose of the job is to do something like this. You have to be able to do this, and that's the last thing I'll tell people in there, when they suit up, put their mask on, and they're getting ready to go up the stairs, 'Hey, go do your job.'"

What The Course Consists Of

The course is designed to test a firefighters' fitness level and to demonstrate to those watching the physical demands of rescue situations. The challenge starts with a sprint up five flights of stairs with a 42 lb. hose pack. Competitors must touch every step. They then have to hoist a 42 lb. pack of hose roll to the top of the stairwell. After that part of the challenge, competitors race off to the 165 lb. Keiser Sled, also referred to as "The Slammer." Lastly, they have to drag 175 lb. Rescue Randy across the finish line, for a race total of 424 lbs. At that point, the race is technically over, but, according to a tradition started by Dave Valeo, the competitors then have to drop to the ground and do push-ups with Valeo and his comrades. Valeo took 6th place in this year's competition.

Fundraiser for the Burn Institute

Although the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge is held in various cities across the United States, the San Diego event is also a fundraiser for the Burn Institute. James Floros, the Executive Director for the Burn Institute, explained, "We're a local non-profit and we're dedicated to reducing burn injuries and deaths in San Diego and Imperial counties. We work very closely with the fire service and it's really about preventing burn injuries and helping people who have been severely burned."

For more information on The Burn Institute, please visit www.burninstitute.org.

For more information on the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge event near you, please visit www.firefighterchallenge.com.

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