VIDEO: Firefighting is hard work, and Pittsfield Deputy Fire Chief Dan Garner wants to be as fit as possible for the challenges of the job. Thirteen years ago, he signed up for his first Firefighter Combat Challenge, an international competition in which participants wear all their gear, including breathing apparatus, and race through a five-part obstacle course to "rescue" a 175-pound dummy. The competitions have since taken him around the country to participate in 53 other races, including the event's Berkshire County debut this weekend. "I got into it just to be better prepared for the job," Garner, also a high school football coach, said Thursday. "I think I'm in better shape now at 45 than I was at 32." Garner was one of nearly 80 American and Canadian firefighters who gathered at Berkshire Crossing on Friday night to kick off the two-day competition.