Imagine having to prepare for the equivalent of a four-alarm fire every week for about 20 straight weeks–and not in your first-due area, but in a different state each weekend. That’s the test faced by the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge (FCC) staff.
Now in its 17th season, the FCC has grown from very modest origins and assets (a Ford Ranger towing a U-Haul) to a full-blown, three-tractor-trailer caravan covering 30,000 miles and accommodating upward of 4,000 firefighters from Anchorage, Alaska, to Gainesville, Fla., and San Diego, Calif., to Haverhill, Mass.
We estimate that more than 30,000 firefighters have stepped on the FCC course since its inception. And that requires the coordination of a lot of people and products. Each competitor dons a NXG7 Scott Air-Pak and full bunkers and puts it on the line, racing against three things: the clock, the firefighter in the next lane and their personal record. Although virtually all firefighters are capable of sequentially performing the five fireground tasks, racing to do this in some insanely short amount of time is part of the fun.
To ensure a level playing field, the FCC Road Crew has assembled and organized a logistical support system that serves as a model for major incidents.
Prepping the SCBAs
Harkening back to my early days in Montgomery County, Md., I recall a working house fire where I was riding on the second-alarm assignment. The incident commander gave me the job of filling SCBAs–not my first choice, but nonetheless this incident gave me insight into the importance of being able to turn around bottles as fast as the guys were showing up for refills.
Although we don’t have quite the same urgency at the FCC, we are sensitive to the need to keep the throughput at approximately 30 athletes per hour. SCBAs have improved dramatically since those days of negative-pressure demand valves. Now, an FCC competitor can move more than 250 liters of air per minute, with no diminution in performance.
In the early 90s, we relied upon the host department to provide the necessary assets, including SCBA and a compressor. To become self-sufficient, it was important to have all necessary equipment readily accessible. With Scott Health & Safety taking on the title sponsor role in 1995, we were finally able to close this logistical circle.
The crux of our air supply management was the arrival of the Liberty I, the all-in-one diesel-powered compressor, generator and filling station. Weighing in at close to 6,000 lbs., this unit presents its own set of logistical hurdles. Meant to be towed by a heavy utility vehicle, the unit is actually carried in our specially designed customized race-car-carrier trailer. Originally owned and used by Honda to support their race team, our Kenworth-towed, 48′ unit is equipped with a 6,000-lb. capacity lift gate. When we throw a tailgate party, a platoon comes!
The Liberty is pushed into position, raised to deck height (40 inches) and then locked into position using special aviation-style tie-down system. The process is reversed at each venue and an air-management specialist begins the process of ensuring that all of the 40 high-pressure cylinders are filled with 3.6 lbs. of air.
Another team sanitizes the Air-Paks to NIOSH standards between each race. Volunteers transport the units between the filling and cleaning stations and the Scott Staging Area. The kids (frequently children of FCC competitors) vie for the important task of shuttling the 20-lb. units. Our record of 50 competitors in 1 hour is a testimony to the incredible fitness levels of our athletes and the logistical support team and a compressor system that can keep up with this kind of throughput.
Our SCBAs take a lot of abuse–not unlike that seen at a working fire. Racing backward while towing Rescue Randy (a 175-lb. high-fidelity mannequin) puts the competitor at that precarious balancing point where if they look back, a fall is imminent. Although the drag takes place on a carpeted surface, the SCBA takes a big hit at the point of impact. We rarely see damage that puts a unit out of service. In those few instances, our spare-parts inventory and field service personnel are more than capable of performing the required repairs.
Final Notes The Scott FCC is the only international competition where the athletes are provided their own air. Being able to perform at World-Class levels while wearing your 50-lb. business suit (PPE) speaks volumes about the technology available to firefighters today and their remarkable levels of fitness. As one veteran of Omaha (Neb.) Fire Department remarked about the Challenge, “It never gets easier, you only get faster.”
