Dubai: UAE firefighters endured the "toughest two minutes in sport" on Monday afternoon.
Six teams from across the country joined their Canadian counterparts for the inaugural UAE International Firefit Championships at Dubai World Trade Centre.
The event, which was being held as part of the Intersec exhibition, is designed to showcase and promote the physical fitness of firefighters.
Dale McRoberts, president of Firefit, said: "It is a competition with a purpose because you are carrying out the essential tasks of firefighting. The event is a snapshot [of a firefighter's job] as it shows you what we do inside a building when you are coming out.
"It is the first time outside of North America and it has been going great. The competitors have been training for three weeks. We actually had a team representing the UAE at the Canadian national championships and they did very well; they brought that knowledge back here to push on to their compatriots.
"It is hard work; they call it the toughest two minutes in sport. But when you are a firefighter you get a chance to show what you can do and you cannot get enough of it."
The competition involved teams of three to five firefighters competing individually against the clock in full turnout gear — helmet, coat, pants with liners, boots and gloves — while breathing from self-contained breathing apparatus.
Each firefighter had to climb five levels of stairs while carrying a 1.2 metre bundle of 100 millimetre hose weighing 20 kilogrammes. The next phase involved hoisting a doughnut roll of 100 millimetre hose to the top before racing back down for the "forcible entry" simulator, which required participants to use a 3.6 kilogramme shot mallet to move a metal beam across the force machine.
Running
Competitors then ran around a set of fire hydrants before dragging a 45 millimetre charged hose line a distance of 23 metres. The competitors had to hit a target with the water stream before completing the task by dragging an 80 kilogramme mannequin backwards over a distance of 30 metres.
Hassan Al Beloushi currently holds the fastest time for an Emirati firefighter. The 25-year-old, who is based in Al Qusais, has a personal best of 2:05:85.
He said: "Today is a big day for us as firefighters. I have had some experience of this competition before in Canada and it taught me and my friends a lot of tricks. This competition is about getting strong, fit and fast and learning how to distribute all the energy in your body.
"I am looking to improve on my record. Everybody is going after it but that is wrong. Everyone must first set their own personal time and then focus on breaking their own record. After a hard two weeks of training I am confident of setting a time under two minutes soon."
