WILKIE — Five members of the Wilkie and District Fire Department headed to Regina June 10 weekend to compete in a Sask./Man./ Nunavut regional competition.
Hunter Sittler, Greg Brooks, Matthew Shabar and Brandon Kotzer were all first-time competitors, while Deputy Fire Chief Craig Sittler was in his fifth year of the competition.
The FireFit Championships is based on firefighting tasks commonly performed in emergency situations. The FireFit event is demanding. August 1994 saw the first Canadian FireFit competition held in Vancouver. The firefit.com website says the competition has grown over the past 25 years and visits every province in Canada.
From information provided in a Facebook post, it was reported that all five Wilkie competitors competed in the individual race portion and Sunday in the team events.
Their social media post states, “Undoubtedly this was the hardest three to six minutes these competitors have seen. Good on the boys for representing WDFD, Gregg finishes first in the 45-plus division and DC Craig second in the officers’ division.”
Hunter Sittler won an award for determination and perseverance for finishing such a gruelling run, while Greg Brooks earned a gold medal in the 45-plus division, winning him a berth to the national competition in Sarnia, Ont.
Matthew Schaber and Brandon Kotzer also had impressive runs in their first time participating in the competition.
Craig Sittler earning a silver medal in the chiefs’ division and also a wild card spot at nationals.
“I have to give kudos to the WDFD members who participated in the FireFit competition as it is a very strenuous competition,” says Fire Chief Randy Elder.
“They train when they have free time and to be able to compete with the best of the best is a great accomplishment.”
Elder adds, “DC Sittler is a five-year vet of this competition He is proud to have assembled a team as well to compete with him. For sure proud of the guys for representing WDFD. They all have renewed their gym memberships, so they will be ready for next year.”
