麻豆社区

For the first time at the Pacific Regional FireFit Championships, the Yukon will have a women鈥檚 team.

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to be doing what we鈥檙e doing and we love it,鈥� said team captain Kelsie Olsen.

Olsen, 21, is a volunteer firefighter with the Golden Horn Department and will be joined by Megan Coyne (Ibex Fire Department), Elizabeth Boyd (Mount Lorne Fire Department) and Sydney Johnson (Ibex Valley Fire Department).

The women鈥檚 team is all under 30.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really positive,鈥� said Olsen. 鈥淲e鈥檝e all been working really hard.鈥�

The group started training together in January this year and along with the male Yukon representatives, have been training at least three times a week for an hour over lunch breaks.

鈥淭he men鈥檚 team has been really supportive,鈥� said Olsen. 鈥淭he community is really supportive of us as well.鈥�

The FireFit course they will be competing on at regionals in Langley, B.C., this weekend simulates a fire ground and includes running up stairs with a coil of hose, hoisting up rope, hammering through a force machine, carrying a charged hose and finally, dragging a 185-lb. dummy , all while wearing full gear and breathing compressed air through a mask.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all hard,鈥� said Olsen. But she anticipates she will have the most trouble with the dummy drag.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the last section, so you鈥檙e already exhausted,鈥� she said.

But Olsen will be happy just to cross the finish line and said, 鈥淲e know our whole team has our back no matter what.鈥�

The Yukon has been sending teams to the pacific regionals for the past two years.

鈥淭his year the firefighting community has stepped up its game and now includes Yukon鈥檚 first women鈥檚 FireCombat team,鈥� said men鈥檚 team captain, Boyd Pyper. 鈥淭his is great news and reflects the diversity of our fire service.鈥�

Also competing will be two men鈥檚 teams including Geoffrey Hann, Kevin Mendelsohn, Thibaut Rondel, Shaun Cooke, Myron Penner, Ray Sabo and Pyper.

The fire combat teams will be racing the clock in B.C. and hope to qualify for the national championships at the end of the summer in Ottawa.

鈥淚t would be amazing,鈥� said Olsen at the prospect of advancing to nationals.

She hopes that by competing in the FireFit competition, it shows how strong women are.

鈥淲e might be smaller and have less body strength,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut we can certainly excel at sports and firefighting.鈥�