Firefighter prepares for combat;
Kevin Voyles heading to Florida to compete in world challenge
Copyright 2005 The Post Register
All Rights Reserved
By PHIL DAVIDSON
Idaho Falls Post Register
Not many people can lay claim to being a world record holder.
Idaho National Laboratory firefighter Kevin Voyles has three and is going for a fourth.
Voyles will put it all on the line again starting Monday at the Firefighter World Combat Challenge XIV in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Dubbed the “Toughest Two Minutes in Sports,” firefighters from all over the United States and Canada will compete in tasks simulating the physical demands of real-life firefighting, all while wearing their “full bunker gear.”
The five-part event includes climbing a five-story tower while carrying a 42-pound pack, swinging a 9-pound shot mallet on the end of a 160-pound steel beam and dragging a 175-pound dummy 100 feet to the finish line. Whoever has the fastest time after completing all the tasks is the winner.
“You push your body to the point where it’s difficult to stand on your own two feet,” Voyles said of the event. “It’s just a matter of sucking it up and enduring the pain through the end of it.”
The 42-year-old father of four boys has racked up three world records during his 12 years competing in various challenges, in both individual and team categories.
This year, he will compete in 40-and-over tandem division with Stacy Bilapando, a 41-year-old Colorado Springs firefighter.
Local Paul Davis Restoration franchise owners Doug Hadley and Jack Miekle are sponsoring the duo, called Team CSI.
“Kevin’s very, very good at what he does,” said Hadley. “There aren’t many athletes like him.”
To train for the event, Voyles, a Snake River High School graduate, said he runs stairs and does a lot of mountain biking.
He said his Idaho National Laboratory supervisors have been very supportive of the competitions because they see the importance of being physically fit as a firefighter. The challenge’s mission statement says it’s about performing “one of the most dangerous and demanding jobs safer and better.”
Ammon resident Tanya Hampton said Voyles has always remained physically fit in the 10 years she’s known him.
“He’s constantly training,” Hampton said, adding that she often sees Voyles riding his bike through the neighborhood. “He takes a lot of pride in what he does.”
Though he wasn’t always an athlete, Voyles said he hopes to continue participating in challenges until he can no longer remain competitive.
“I always liked competing,” he said. “I just never found my niche until now.”