On Friday, in the competition "Strongest Firefighter" in Jelgava, the commander of the Dobele department, a Jelgava resident, Artūrs Rožkovs, became the strongest firefighter rescuer in Latvia in 2023, while the team of the Lithuanian Fire and Rescue Department won the team rating. Of the participants representing Latvia, Ričards Jirgensons from the Jelgava department showed the second best result, and Tomas Jaunzems from the 7th department of the Riga Regional Administration came in third.
In the team competition, a fierce battle for first place unfolded between two teams from the Lithuanian Fire and Rescue Department. But the third place was won by the team from the Jelgava Unit of the State Fire and Rescue Service.
Firefighters rescuers from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Germany participated in the competition – 60 participants in the individual competition, and 13 rescue teams in the team competition.
The distance of the “Strongest Firefighter” competition is based on a popular sport in Europe and the USA that tests the professional skills and physical fitness of firefighters. The distance consists of five stages – climbing a tower while carrying a bundle of hoses, pulling a hose reel onto the upper platform of the tower, testing strength by hitting a rail with a hammer, pulling a hose full of water and carrying a dummy weighing almost 90 kg to the finish line. The entire distance is completed in a special protective suit for firefighters, and in individual competitions, participants breathe with the help of a breathing apparatus. This simulates as closely as possible the conditions in which firefighters have to work in a fire.
The competition was held in Latvia for only the second time.