NINE TIME CHAMPS

Alyeska cinches annual firefighter competition

Volume 23, No. 3
May 2008

The Alyeska Fire/Rescue Brigade has won the coveted Alaska Firefighter Competition Governor’s Trophy for the ninth

consecutive year. The competition was held in conjunction with the Alaska State Firefighter Association and Alaska Fire Chief Association’s joint conference in Valdez, Alaska. The theme of the conference this year was “Industrial and Municipal Departments Training Together to Protect Alaska’s Future.”

The Alyeska Fire Brigade competition team consists of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company industrial technicians and Doyon Universal Services fire protection professionals employed at the Valdez Marine Terminal. Valdez is the terminus of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System which carries oil from Prudhoe Bay 800-miles to the marine terminal.

Teams across the state compete in four events: fire extinguisher, ladder raise, self-contained breathing apparatus and make and break. Points earned during the competition are then tallied up for the overall award, the Governor’s Trophy. The Alyeska team members include Brian Beauvais, Sean Wisner, Matt Smelcer, Justin Major, Steve McCann, Ken White and Jennifer Stubblefield.

In the fire extinguisher event, the participant runs 50 feet (15 meters) in full turnout gear while test carrying a dry chemical extinguisher for use to snuff out a fire in and around a barrel of water that has a quart of gasoline on top. Once the fire is extinguished, the participant runs back 50 feet (15 meters). Smelcer snagged second place for the team.

Alyeska blasted the ladder raise event for a perfect first place time. Beauvais, Wisner and Stubblefield raced 75 feet (23 meters) to a pole while carrying a 24-foot (7 meters) extension ladder, raised the ladder, tied the halyard and footed the ladder for Major who climbed to the top to sound the bell attached to the pole.

Wisner secured first place in the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) event. Wisner ran 75 feet (23 meters), donned his turnout gear and SCBA and was breathing air within a minute.

White, McCann and Smelcer succeeded in grabbing another first place in the Make and Break. The make and break involves each participant coupling three 50-foot (15 meter) sections of hoses together, adding the nozzle, then racing past the 170 feet (52 meters) mark to uncouple the nozzle and hoses while racing to the hydrant connection.

The Ayeska Fire/Rescue Brigade triumphed and secured the Governor’s Trophy, which was presented by the State Fire Marshall’s Office at the conference banquet. The Alyeska brigade has won the Governor’s Trophy 13 times since 1993.

 

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