FireNews.net

Asheville Firefighters Compete in World Competition

Buncombe County

ASHEVILLE - A women’s team from the Asheville Fire Department won second place last weekend in a worldwide firefighter relay competition in Las Vegas, Nev.

A men’s team from Asheville also advanced to the semi-final rounds in the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge on Saturday, which draws fire crews from across the world to compete in individual and group events.

The local firefighters had been competing in local events in hopes of qualifying for the world competition in Las Vegas.

Participants in the relay race must put on full fire gear and race other teams performing a series of tasks including climbing a tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging houses and rescuing a life-size dummy “victim.”

The women’s team competed against five other teams and finished second in the world, just .63 seconds slower then the first place team.

The men’s team competed against hundreds of teams and finished in the semi-finals with a time of 1 minute, 37 seconds.

The competition will air on Versus channel in January 2009 including the final race of the Asheville women’s relay team bringing home the silver.

The teams were sponsored by a partnership between Asheville Fire and Rescue, the Asheville Firefighters Association, and private businesses coupled with multiple fundraisers.

Team members include:

Women’s Relay

Charley Cox

Ruth Olson

Joy Ponder

Karen Shuart

Kelley Webb

Men’s Relay

Rick Miller

David Sauer

Garry Shackelford

Jason Worley