Last weekend proved to be long and rewarding one for Ryan Kaiser.

The Okotoks Fire Fighter competed in this year's FireFit competition at Spruce Meadows but it was a long road just to get the competition.

Kaiser has been training for FireFit since the start of 2016 at the department's south hall and says he was well prepared for the challenge.

"We just set up basically the whole course inside that hall for us to train on," he says. "I have to credit my coach Ian McLeod who was also a competitor with keeping myself and my partner on track through the whole regime."

FireFit has seven stages to it, Stair Rise with High-Rise Pack, Hose Hoist, Descending a Tower, Forcible Entry, Task Run, Hose Advance and the Victim Rescue which involves moving a 180 lbs. dummy 100 feet to finish the relay.

Kaiser says all stages were tough but the closing task was the one where you find out how tough fire fighters are.

"Definitely the dummy drag, we've been practicing since January but at the end of it I was so exhausted just grabbing a hold of that dummy trying to carry him that 100 feet. He slipped on me once but I heard everyone cheering me on and that just pushed me to grab that dummy lift up again and finish it off."

Kaiser finished the relay with a time of 3:18:33 and says the time doesn't tell the perseverance that is need for FireFit.

"There was some people that unfortunately weren't able to finish the course but it is very challenging. It puts you right to your limit. The fastest guys were finishing the course in 1:20 but there some finishing over five minutes and t's not so much about your time it's just the fact that you were able to finish the course."

Fellow Okotoks fire fighter Kevin Murray was 79 at 2:40:75, High River's Ryan Wiebe was 69 at 2:26:68 and Andrew Draper of the Turner Valley department was 89 at 3:50:80.

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