The FireFit Championships Lake Huron regional competition is returning to Port Elgin.
Bruce Power, the Town of Saugeen Shores, and the Saugeen Shores Fire Department are collaborating to host the two-day event.
"It's essentially a compilation of firefighter tasks that may have to be performed during a fire event," said Dave Teeple, Section Manager, EPS Fire, Bruce Power. "There's a stair climb, a hose pull, there's a forcible entry prop, which is to simulate having to break down the door. There's a serpentine run, having to move quickly through the course."
There will also be a hose advance and a victim rescue. Events similar to this are held across the country, but the Lake Huron regional competition gathers special attention.
"This competition is extremely popular among the departments, among the participants because we hold it on the beach," Teeple noted. "Typically, a lot of competitions you'll have in a Walmart parking lot or a college parking lot, so the one on the beach is extremely popular."
The event will be held on the beach, right where the train station once was. The land was donated for use by Cedar Crescent Village.
"For me, one of the biggest parts of watching this competition is watching the skill of the firefighters," Teeple exclaimed. "They put in hours and hours of training and the camaraderie piece is absolutely amazing to see. It's a really fast paced event, males and females doing individual competitions as well as team events."
The events are a friendly competition that are used to get firefighters out and showing off their skill, but also meet and interact with other firefighters, according to Teeple.
As of right now, there's around 160 participants registered. They will participate in the individual competitions, often called the "Indies" on Saturday, August 26, and many will also compete with their departments for the team competition on Sunday, August 27.
"We have folks from many different departments across Canada that are coming to participate, and I believe a few from outside of Canada," shared Teeple. "We're hoping for good weather, lots of spectators, and hoping for everybody to have lots of fun."
Each day kicks off at 11 a.m. More information can be found here.
