09/20/2016
Hello! This is my new page, and thank you for visiting. Please tell your friends about my page. You will find photography, information about my English Angora rabbits, gardening, and books that I write!
You may be wondering why, with a name like Blue Dolphin Acres, you see the Scott Air-Pak Firefighter Combat Challenge as my cover photo. Well, let me tell you . . .
Michael DeGrandpre, from the Firefighter Combat Challenge, was kind enough to welcome me to their North Little Rock, Arkansas event on Friday, 16 September 2016, when I emailed him about coming to take some photos. I shall always be grateful to Michael and all the folks who were there at the event.
From the moment I arrived, any questions I asked were answered, suggestions as to the best spots where I could set up my spot to take photos and not be in the way . . . every one was terrific! And that was even BEFORE the event got under way.
When it was time to begin and family members and other community supporters arrived and were seated, the level excitement was amazing. Following a prayer and the pledge of Allegiance, the announcer explained the course and the guidelines, what could and could not be done and the best and safest way to accomplish certain tasks.
Once the combat challenge was underway, the level of excitement was amazing! EVERYONE participated. And EVERY role was important. If one person had not done their job, the event could not have happened. For example, volunteers were responsible to return the rescue mannequin (weighing 175 lbs) after every heat),someone had to refill the air tanks, someone had to clean and disinfect the masks, someone had to return the water hoses, each of these had to be done after each heat or the next team could not compete. TEAMWORK at its finest!
Something else I had not expected to see. The participants in the Combat Challenge are called competitors and compete they do, however, in some events, a firefighter, while in the final heat, might stumble and go down and struggle to regain the ability to finish the heat. I noticed that EVERYONE encouraged the struggling firefighter to their feet to complete the heat! I even saw a firefighter who had completed the heat come back to the course to encourage his "opponent!" Out on that track, they were firefighters, encouraging each other, not hoping for another's failure.
I had the opportunity to speak to a couple of the firefighters following their completion of the course. One young man said that this year was his first. He was wearing the gear from his home station, which weighed about 75 lbs., then, of course, the rescue mannequin weighed 175 lbs.; I told him I understood the physical stress, but did he feel an emotional stress. He said that yes, of course you are really competing against the clock, but there is definitely a sense of stress. I spoke with another competitor, a young lady from South Carolina. Her performance on the course was absolutely amazing. She told me that this was her fifth year for competing and the sense of family and support is something they all share.
All in all, I took over 400 photos. Of course, I did not download them all here, but I have made them available for your viewing pleasure.
