They brought the heat.
Firefighters from across Otago and Southland battled each other, the sun and their own minds on Saturday, competing in the provincial southern firefighter challenge.
About 40 gathered at Queenstown Primary School with their best mates, families and pets to take on what’s been described as "the toughest sport in two minutes".
Competitors ran up a three-storey tower and once at the top, reeled up a 20kg weight attached to rope.
They then ran down the steps and jumped on a Keiser force machine, which simulated the chopping movement used in forcible entries, navigated a "slalom" course and at the end there was a hose for them to carry back up the course and fire at a target.
Queenstowner Samuel Stafford-Bush took out the top spot with a time of 1min 48.84sec, just 2sec in front of runner-up Stephen Borsboom.
Otago Southland Provincial Fire Brigades’ Association president Jeff Manson said the challenge was a tough combination of all the hardest parts of being a firefighter.
Mr Manson, a 37-year brigade veteran from Mossburn, reminded competitors before starting, to recognise their own limits, and admitted he might not finish the course himself.
However, he managed it in an impressive 3min 51.53sec.
The Southern Challenge was in preparation for the South Island championships on March 25 in Christchurch, with hopes some of Saturday’s southerners would advance to the nationals in Wellington in May.
