By Neil Nisperos
The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
CHINO, Calif. — After winning gold swimming at the 2009 World Police and Fire Games in Vancouver, champion firefighter Rob Wyatt had a different and more dangerous sort of challenge when he braved the destructive prison riot at the California Institution for Men in Chino.
Wyatt was among a four-man engine crew from the Chino Valley Independent Fire District who responded on the night of Aug. 8 to the burning Joshua Hall set on fire by rioters in Chino. Joshua Hall, which reporters toured a few days after the riot, appeared to be gutted by fire from the inside with large gaping holes in the building.
“The fire burned though the roof pretty good and I tell you there was stuff everywhere,” said Wyatt of the scene. “It just takes you back to real life. ‘All right’ party’s over; forget the vacation, time to work.”
The call came in a day after Wyatt and his family returned home from the games in Canada.
“We were in the prison for about an hour trying to knock the fire down,” said Wyatt, who has been with the Chino Valley Independent Fire District since 1991. “CIM has an engine, and they were there too.”
Wyatt said by the time the engine arrived at the burning building, corrections officers were having inmates lie down, though the sounds of flash-bang grenades exploded in another part of the yard.
“It was a little stressful as far as that, but we had Chief (Paul) Benson and our division chief scout out the riot before we went in and we had two armed guards to cover the perimeter of our engine.”
Before diving into a prison riot to fight a roaring blaze, Wyatt won one gold, four silver and two bronze medals in various swimming competitions at the Vancouver games.
Wyatt competed against people from countries including France, Korea, Australia, Italy, Spain, China and Russia. He won gold in the 400-meter relay.
“These guys were smoking fast,” said Wyatt, who added his team was comprised of two firefighters from the Midwest, and another from Australia. “I had a lot of fun and I’m glad I got to meet firefighters from other countries and was able to work with them as a team.”
Relay teams are selected based on age groups and can be a combination from any country participating in the games.
Wyatt began his love of swimming as a lifeguard at Newport Beach. He joined the trained year-round by swimming and doing other cardio activities. He also maintains a healthy diet. The benefits from training for the games translated into his everyday work as a firefighter/paramedic.
“These games help me with my job because it keeps me physically fit and gives me exposure to other departments so that I can talk to people from around the world about firefighting,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt is already hard at work training for the New York games.
“It’s a fun competition and it gives me an opportunity to represent the Chino Valley,” Wyatt said.
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