By SHELLY MERON
PIEDMONT, Calif. — At first, Justin McNulty’s fellow firefighters at the Piedmont Fire Department thought he was crazy for wanting to enter the World Championships of the Firefighter Combat Challenge.
But once McNulty began training last year, the rest of the crew got competitive and wanted to give it a try, too.
“It’s really exciting because the guys have really caught the bug and want to continue doing it,” he said. “Now they’re really into it.”
McNulty, an eight-year veteran firefighter who’s been with the Piedmont Fire Department for four years, competed in individual events at last year’s competition. This year, he was joined by Capt. Scott Barringer, Lt. Mike Carlisle, engineer Alan Grace and firefighter Jonathan Fitzpatrick at the event held in Dearfield Beach, Fla., near Fort Lauderdale. The annual event has become popularized by a decade of coverage by ESPN.
The competition was originally scheduled for Nov. 1-5, but was postponed by three weeks because of Hurricane Wilma.
That didn’t discourage the Piedmont crew -- they placed 31st out of more than 80 teams, with an impressive 1 minute, 28 second result in their last run.
First place went to the team from Travis Air Force Base near Fairfield, which managed to complete the course in 1 minute, 11 seconds.
In order to participate in the World Championship, the Piedmont team had to first qualify at a regional event, which took place in Fremont last August.
The competition includes individual, relay and tandem events. McNulty participated in a few individual events this year, and was also joined by the rest of the crew for the relay event.
The relay includes five members, who must complete steps such as carrying hose bundles up stairs, lifting a 165-pound mallet, and using a fire hose to shoot at a target -- all in full gear, which weighs more than 50 pounds.
McNulty said participating is fun, but physically challenging.
“After you finish (the competition), you can’t even function for 10 minutes,” he explained. “It takes every ounce of energy out of you.”
The motivation came from his competitiveness and love for physical activity, he said, and from a desire to meet firefighters from all over the world.
McNulty said the competition also gave the whole group motivation for their regular exercises.
“The thing that motivated everybody most was that it gave us a goal to shoot for in our workouts,” he said. “It helps us show the rigors of our profession and our pride in Piedmont.”
Local residents will be glad to know that training for and participating in the competition has resulted in all members of the Piedmont Fire Department becoming more fit and better at their jobs.
“I think it’s drastically helped our physical fitness level,” McNulty said. “We’ve all become more fit and you notice that when we’re on any call -- carrying equipment up stairs, or carrying people.”
The team plans to compete again next year. McNulty will again participate in individual events, five team members will enter the relay event, and two of the team’s members will try their hand at the tandem event.
But for right now, the Piedmont crew is enjoying a break from training, but only until January. McNulty said they will quickly get back to their training schedule in the hopes of making even better times when the next season begins in May. The next World Championship event will take place in November 2006.
Meanwhile, McNulty said he is looking for corporate sponsorship. Most teams who participate in the World Championship have a corporate sponsor who pays for travel and equipment expenses.
This year, the team was sponsored by private citizens from the Piedmont area. McNulty said he made sure each person who donated more than $100 got his or her name printed on the team’s banner.
No matter how they do next year, the Piedmont team has come out of this experience more unified than ever.
“It’s increased our shift unity. We’re all working together on a team outside the fire department,” McNulty said. “It just makes your team that much closer.”