Team posts best combined performances at world combat challenge

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By Yvon Gauvin
Times & Transcript staff

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LAS VEGAS - Five dedicated Moncton firefighters proved they were the best in the world at what they do by topping the competition at the 2009 World Championship Firefighter Combat Challenge in Las Vegas last week.

The firefighters had the best combined personal scores in the competition beating out all other competitors from Canada, the United States, Germany and New Zealand. As many as 80 teams participated.

Jamie Richford, Marcel Dupuis, Jason Bergeron, Matt Dunfield and Collin Powers turned in excellent performances at what is a gruelling competition mimicking the real life tasks they have to do in the event of a fire, from racing up stairs carrying heavy hoses to rescuing people trapped in fires, all while wearing heavy firefighting gear in a race against the clock.

Canadian teams took over the competitions winning top male open competition, top male over 50, top male over 55 and top female racer. Second place in the top male open competition was won by Ryan Hallam of Fredericton.

"We were pretty surprised" at the team win, Dunfield said from Las Vegas. Moncton had always done well but never won a national or international competition, he explained.

The team trained hard and was driven, he said.

Training for these combat competitions is a year-round undertaking, with the added benefit that the men and women are much more fit and healthy. As a result, more and more Moncton firefighters are showing an interest in the competition, he said.

Dunfield who has been participating in the firefighter combat events for the past six years said the members take pride in what they do and their accomplishments at the competitions. They pay for the trip out of their own pocket and through fundraising activities including the sale of their firefighter calenders.

At the same time, the competitions provides the public with a glimpse of what firefighters do in a fire.

It's a rewarding feeling when the public stops to watch and ends up spending the afternoon cheering the competitors on, he said.

The team will returned home yesterday after a few days relaxation.