Dubai, February 05: Dressed in familiar neon-yellow attire, helmet and gloves, firefighters dashed across the field to grab hold of a fire hose nozzle and lugged it back to their positions as fast as they could.
Then, another set of men each dragged an 80kg mannequin to the end of a line as a crowd of visitors watched in awe while they stood outside metal rail barriers.
No, this was not a rescue mission of a boutique on fire but the UAE Civil Defence heroes were participants at the country’s first edition of Dubai FireFit Championships. The three-day event started on Thursday at The Walk, Jumeirah Beach Residence, and is held as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival 2011.
“This is not just a competition for firefighters but it is for them to be fit while they are in service for the benefit of UAE society, as it is based on emergency tasks,” said Mohammad Al Ahmadi, founder of the Dubai FireFit Championships. He added that the competition is a spin-off of the internationally recognised FireFit International Championship in Canada, and the UAE International FireFit Championships was presented at the Intersec Trade show, a Middle East premiere emergency services event last month.
Participants from private and governmental departments who specialise in public rescue and safety competed to display their abilities through a series of activities that need agility, strength and stamina. Hence its slogan ‘The toughest two minutes in sports’.
Apart from it being a platform for professionals to test their limits and simulate the demands of the occupation, the event also aims to educate residents and visitors on safety measures as well as to raise appreciation for the unsung heroes and encourage their participation in such games.
“We wanted firefighters to also be aware about competitions that are held around the world, and the concept of these championships. We had gone to Civil Defence stations in each of the seven emirates and demonstrated as well as trained them,” he said.
A team of fire-fighting experts from Canada were called in this year to assist in training UAE’s professionals to improve their efficiency.
“We brought trainers from the United States and Canada because they are the best firefighters in the world, so we are getting the experience and learning from the best experts.
Firefighters in Canada are world champions in this game and have proved so because they set a record of one minute and 15 seconds, while the best UAE firefighters need two minutes and four seconds,” he said. The last day of the competition will be held today and is expected to start around 12 noon and go on till 5.30pm at The Walk, Jumeirah Beach Residence.
–Agencies–