Firefighters from 15 departments throughout west-central Wisconsin agreed on the toughest part of their upcoming state certification test: The ladder challenge was not going to be easy. At a new training facility on the west campus of Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire, firefighters set a tall ladder reaching three stories up, then climbed it while carrying another ladder on their backs. The idea was to hook that ladder over the crown of the roof, one of several challenges firefighters practiced on Saturday, Oct. 7 as they prepared for the test.