Four young firemen will test their skills Saturday at the annual junior firefighter competition in Warren County.
Kendell Watson, Brenden Watson, Zach Allen and Zac Sharpe — junior firefighters with the East Rockingham Fire Department, trained by Chuck Bowden and Rex Boone — will be competing against other teens from several states, including the Carolinas, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Bowden said the boys help maintain the trucks and equipment at the station and are required to have at least 36 hours of training per year.
And it’s that training they hope will pay off in the multiple events, which include: written and verbal tests, vehicle extrication and hose roll.
Other contests include a tug of war, where they use a straight stream from the fire hose to push a barrel along a cable, and carrying a stretcher through an obstacle course.
Out of the four, Brenden Watson, 16, was the only one to compete last year, when the team placed first in the firefighter relay.
“It’s fun but…it can be frustrating at times,” he said. “Seeing other teams up against you makes you want to push harder. It’s more of an adrenaline rush than anything.”
Boone added that there was a group of girls at last year’s event that “put some of them boys to shame.”
“You’ve got to bring your A-game on up there,” he said.
Aside from competing, Watson said he enjoys comparing trucks, calls and other aspects of firefighting with his peers.
“It’s more fun meeting new people, learning what they do at their departments,” he said.