TRURO, N.S. — Courtney Mills is one of the firefighters who will be displaying their skills this weekend, when the FireFit Eastern Atlantic Regional Championships take place this weekend.
“It’s my first time taking part and I’m a little nervous, but I like new challenges,” said the Cobequid District firefighter. “I know it’ll be tough. The victim drag is the hardest for me. I’ve been training at Bluenose Fitness and doing practice stuff with dummies.”
FireFit competition is based on firefighting tasks commonly performed in emergency situations.
Cobequid firefighter Dave Osborne has taken part in the event a couple of times and is organizing this year’s competition.
The Cobequid District Fire Brigade is hosting the regional event, and firefighter Dave Osborne, who has competed a couple of times in the past, is an organizer this year.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction in taking part,” he said. “It’s often called the toughest two minutes in sports. Personally, I find the stairs the hardest part.
“I wanted to host this here because it’s a great event and I’m hoping it will generate interest from new volunteers. All brigades are having a hard time getting and retaining volunteers.”
Osborne isn’t able to compete this year because all participants need medical clearance, and his doctor has retired.
Mills has always enjoyed sports and took part in CrossFit competition for the first time last winter. She’s competing in the individual races on Saturday.
“I wanted something different to challenge me,” she said. “It’ll be good training for firefighting too.”
The FireFit regional championships will be staged in the Truro Mall parking lot Aug. 10 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Aug. 11 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
This is the first time this event has been hosted in Colchester County. It is a qualifier for the Canadian National & Worlds Championships being held in Oshawa, Ontario in Sept. 11-15.