TNP reporter takes firefighters' challenge

I found out the hard way yesterday that I am not a Braveheart, or at least that firefighting is not for me.

I was completely out of place in the firefighters’ world of peak physical and mental fitness.

I was planning to do my National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA) test next month.

But the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) set me an earlier fitness test, something called the Braveheart challenge.

The mentally and physically straining obstacles gave me a reality check on any presumptions I had about my fitness.

The Braveheart challenge has eight stages, which include carrying two 15kg hoses, climbing up a tower, hoisting up the hoses from the top of the tower, rappelling down the tower with a 35kg mannequin and traversing 35m on a rope to the start point.

Even before stage one, I was already sweating as I put on the 15kg gear which consisted of a helmet, a harness and a breathing apparatus. It all gave me the impression that I was on a diving trip.

And dive I did, in terms of timing.

The previous champion and three-time winner of the Braveheart challenge, Staff Sergeant Azmir Ali, clocked a time of 5min 35sec for the whole event.

WEARY: Reporter Joseph Lee struggles throughout the challenges with a smile.​ ​TNP PHOTO: AHMAD FARUQ ROZALI

In the same amount of time, I barely finished the first stage. I struggled to carry a 13kg triple extension ladder to the tower that was 40m away.

Gasping, I pitched the ladder onto the side of the tower scaffolding and rushed back towards the starting point, dragging two 30m-long hoses.

DRAINED

With every step I took, all my previous enthusiasm drained away.

I kept my head down, knowing full well that if I saw the distance ahead, I’d throw in the towel.

Then I had to run back to the tower to roll up the hoses towards the starting point in a squatting position.

TNP PHOTO: AHMAD FARUQ ROZALI

Somewhere in between rolling up the two hoses, the pain of my regret was erased by actual pain from lactic acid build-up in my body.

I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself in it.

This was by far the worst part, and it was only stage two.

Thighs aching, I moved on to the third stage, where I attached the rolled-up hoses to the end of a pulley.

I wanted to call it off.

I was wiping sweat from my brow every second and was face-to-face with my greatest fear. Heights.

However, I was too tired to even be afraid.

One tentative step at a time, I climbed up to the second storey of the 40m tower, all the way thinking: “Don’t look down”.

Staggering, almost stumbling towards the pulley, I had nothing left in the tank.

The two 30kg hoses felt like the weight of Stonehenge.

I pulled at the rope with the whole weight of my body, but the hoses did not even lift off the ground.

After watching me struggle for the five most embarrassing minutes of my life, two firefighters helped me complete the stage, pulling the pulley rope next to me.

SKIP

Tired and demoralised, I skipped the remaining five stages and ended my challenge by carrying a 35kg mannequin to the starting point, finishing in 45 minutes.

Drenched in sweat that qualified my earlier diving quip, I thanked the SCDF personnel for helping me to remove my gear – I was too tired to even remove my own gear – with a newfound respect for firefighters.

I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself in it.

– Joseph Lee

FYI

WHAT: The Singapore-Global Firefighters & Paramedics Challenge (SGFPC)

WHERE: Singapore Expo Hall 2, 1 Expo Drive

WHEN: Heats are today, 11am to 7pm, finals are tomorrow, 1pm to 7pm

​WHAT: The Lifesavers’ Connect Exhibition

WHERE: Singapore Expo Hall 3

WHEN: Today to Sunday, 11am to 7pm

TICKETS: Admission is free