For those who watched the Olympics, broken records became almost routine as swimmer Michael Phelps and sprinter Usain Bolt dominated their respective sports.
But over the weekend, another impressive record fell on American soil, in Haverhill to be exact, at the Firefighter's Combat Challenge in front of more than 1,000 spectators.
The world's best-conditioned firefighters descended on Merrimack Valley Hospital's campus, the site of the country's largest of 20 regional competitions this year. Eighteen states and three countries, including Slovenia and Canada, were represented.
"It's like a mini Olympics for firefighters," said Paul Weinburgh, a captain in the Haverhill Fire Department, organizer of the event, and a top competitor.
World Champion Brandon Cunningham of Augusta, Ga., was to the event what Phelps or Bolt were to Beijing. Cunningham also lived up to the hype, winning the solo event with a time of 1 minute, 23 seconds.
In the open male tandem event, the competition for men under 40, Cunningham and Anthony McMurty of Georgia broke the old world record by 3 seconds by finishing the course in 1:14. Three seconds, although seemingly miniscule, is a huge margin in competition, especially considering 3 seconds could be the difference between life and death in a fire emergency.
"They shattered the record," said Weinburgh.
The course is a daunting one, set up to simulate the skills necessary to rescue someone from a burning building. Competitors must complete series of five tasks, including climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a 175-pound dummy victim.
"It was a great event," said Weinburgh. "It's exciting and fast-paced."
To entice participants to make the trek to Haverhill for the event, organizers planned a welcome dinner at Al Forno Trattoria on Washington Street on Friday night. There were also two $5,000 defibrillators as prizes for winning departments to take home.
Although not record-breaking, local firefighters, including many from Haverhill, have nothing to be ashamed of in their performances.
Weinburgh and his teammate, David Bowman of Charlotte, N.C., finished just behind the two-time national champion over-40 tandem team from Virgina and Kentucky — a team that missed breaking a world record by just three one-hundredths of a second.
In addition to the tandem competitions, where one teammate completes half of the course and the second teammate completes the other, there was also a solo competition and a team relay.
But the firefighters weren't the only ones having fun.
There was also the Kids Challenge, in which children had the chance to experience the life of a firefighter. Between 300 and 400 children participated, Weinburgh said. There was also a smoke house from Amesbury that helped teach children how to get out in case of fire and other fire safety training for families.
The Cutter's Edge was a special addition to the weekend, as competitors impressed the crowd with their speedy chainsaws. This competition has only been seen at one other challenge.
The corporate challenge was a unique opportunity for the event's sponsors to send teams onto the course and try their hand at the competition.
Weinburgh estimated that 250 to 300 people competed over the course of the weekend, which was arguably the most pleasant weekend of the summer, weather-wise. For the spectators, that is. The firefighters competed in full gear, making the seasonably balmy temperatures feel like the heat on the surface of the sun. Even though a world record was broken, times may have been even more exceptional if the heat wasn't bearing down on the competitors.
"It was really hot those days," explained Weinburgh. "That's perhaps why many of the times were slower than they could have been."
The Firefighters Combat Challenge was sponsored by Merrimack Valley Hospital, Alpha Aesar, Trinity EMS, ZOLL Medical and Haverhill Firefighters Local 1011.
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How Haverhill participants fared against other New England Competitors
Solo Competition:
8. Paul Weinburgh, Haverhill Fire Department Local 1011 (First Place for Over 40) - 2 minutes, 6.69 seconds
12. Jeff Borden, HFD Local 1011 - 2:24.76
15. Tyler Kimball, HFD Local 1011 (Third Place for Over 40) - 2:31.24
18. Chris Jones, HFD Local 1011 - 2:39.18
32. Tim Carroll, HFD Local 1011 - 2:52.05
50. Mike Friel, HFD Local 1011 (Third Place Over 50) - 4:45.12
Male Tandem:
1. Paul Weinburgh and David Bowman, ALFA DOGS Over 40 Tandem - 1:25.78
5. Paul Weinburgh and Tyler Kimball, Haverhill 40 Plus Tandem - 1:54.11
6. Jeff Borden and Don Minion, Haverhill Open Male Tandem A - 1:54.18
Five-Man Relay Teams:
2. Haverhill Team 2 - 1:26.83
4. Haverhill Fire Department 1 - 1:45.55
