Husband-and-wife volunteer firefighters Gillian and Grant Getz made themselves a bet before they started competing at the Firefighter Games Saturday at the BCNE.
Whoever finished the combat challenge with the worst time was in for a head shaving.
So when the two four-year members of Ferndale-Tabor Fire Rescue showed up Sunday for the team events, Gillian was sporting only stubble on her head. She lost the bet after finishing the obstacle course race in seven minutes 19.31 seconds, nearly two minutes slower than Grant's time of 5:22.90.
"My hair wasn't that long to begin with so it wasn't too bad," smiled Gillian. "I've always wanted to try it. He was going to have a mohawk and have to shave his mustache if I won."
The obstacle course required them to climb a ladder, pull a hose up to a platform using a rope, move a concrete barrier with a sledge hammer, carry two fire extinguishers over a distance, aim a water hose at a target to knock it down, crawl through a confined space after taking off their breathing apparatus and they finished by dragging a 165-pound mannequin for 50 feet.
"I had real trouble putting on my pack," said Gillian. "You can't compete with those 20-year-olds."
Both 53, the Getz's weren't out to win the test of endurance against their peers, but the fun of competing in the event made it all worthwhile to the Prince George couple.
"It was pretty grueling and my object every year is to better my time from the previous year, and I've managed to do that every year, so I'm happy about that," said Grant. "It's pretty cool doing it in front of a crowd.
"We've been on a few (real-life) incidents where you feel like stopping, but it's not an option. You're there to get the fire out and keep it from spreading. You do get your second wind. The beauty of it is when I walked in that door four years ago, you're an equal. It doesn't matter by gender or age and everybody can contribute somehow. You don't have to be on the front line fighting the fire to be effective. You can be helping change out (oxygen) bottles or be bringing water to the guys coming off the line."
They meet at the Ferdale-Tabor hall on Tuesday evenings where they learn everything from firefighting techniques and dealing with hazardous materials to first aid skills.
"I love the free training we get as firefighters, – it's amazing what comes to you just in everyday situations now, because of the training we've had," said Gillian. "We're kind of adrenaline junkies when that radio goes off. We like the bells and whistles and the sirens."
In the team hose ball event, two firefighters lined up alongside two of their teammates with hoses in hand facing four hose-holding firefighters from an opposing hall. At the signal, a member of each team turned on the valve to deliver water to the hoses aimed at an empty beer keg. The team that moved the keg into the opponents' goal area advanced to the next round. There was also a bucket brigade and a make-and-break hose connection team event.
Forty-one individuals and teams from 10 volunteer fire halls as far away as 100 Mile House competed in the two-day Firefighter Games, held on a prominent site just east of CN Centre. Although crowds were thin under the rain Sunday, the place was packed on Saturday and kids flocked to the Fire and Life Safety House, where they learned safety tips on how to prevent fires. For some halls, the public demonstrations served as a recruiting tool to bolster their own ranks.
Event organizer Bryant Kimble, chief of Ferndale-Tabor Fire Rescue now in his 35th year as a volunteer firefighter, looks forward every year to showing BCNE crowds what fire crews are trained to do.
"Anything we do here, they have to know how to do in a real situation at any given scene," said the 69-year-old Kimble. "Climbing ladders, handling the hose, they're all skills they have to do and this is just a honing for them to improve on what they do normally and they learn by their mistakes."
Jason Lainey of Pilot Mountain won the male officer individual event in 2:17.62, while Carolyn Netzlaw of Salmon Valley won the female officer title in 4:00.62.
