MONTREAL, July 18,
2024 /CNW/ - Thousands of adults and children are
expected to join in the fun at Angrignon Park, where family
and individual sporting events, inflatable games and a free
barbecue (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) are all
part of the Montreal Firefighters Family Rendezvous. The
weekend-long event will feature the famous Canadian Firefit
Championship, where more than 250 firefighters from all over
Canada will compete on Saturday
and Sunday, from 10:45 a.m. to 4
p.m., in endurance, endurance, endurance and endurance
races. They'll be competing for endurance in a variety of
individual and relay events requiring strength and skill.
"This event, with its Firefit events, is a generous testament to
the iron will of firefighters in the face of risky situations and
tragedies affecting citizens, for whose safety they are
unquestionably willing to deploy everything, often even at the risk
of their own lives," said Montreal Firefighters Association
President Chris Ross, praising the
mental strength, rigor, expertise and sense of duty of Montreal firefighters.
Among the spectacular demonstrations on the program, the
simulated extrication of road accident victims will take place this
Saturday, starting at 1 p.m., and
will show just how important a role firefighters play in front-line
rescue and intervention.
Children will have access to a miniature firefighters' course,
inflatable games, an exhibition of antique fire trucks,
face-painting workshops and a host of other fun activities. "In its
3rd year, this family event has become a true Montreal tradition, gaining in popularity year
after year," continued Chris Ross,
for whom this popular celebration is a great opportunity for
Montreal firefighters to share
their unconditional commitment to the safety of the city's
population. The grand Firefit challenge will bring the weekend's
celebrations to a close. In direct-action relay events, teams of 3
to 5 participating firefighters will force their way up a 5-storey
tower with a 45-pound length of hose on their shoulder, requiring
the displacement of a heavy 165-pound steel beam, and race around
hydrants over a length of 140 feet with a hose loaded with water
carried over a distance of 75 feet.
At the end of the course, the ultimate and supreme effort will
be to extricate a 175-pound dummy from a perilous situation, over a
distance of 100 feet.
A number of Projet Montréal and Official Opposition elected
officials will compete in a Firefit team relay race at City Hall on
Friday, July 19, starting at
noon.
These famous Canadian competitions, better known as the FireFit
Championships, will be the highlight of this great weekend of
popular festivities.
SOURCE Association des pompiers de Montréal