On Friday, in the competition "Strongest Firefighter" in Jelgava, the strongest firefighter rescuer in Latvia in 2024 was Ričards Jirgensons, a firefighter rescuer from the Jelgava district, while the team of the Lithuanian Fire and Rescue Department won the team rating. Of the participants representing Latvia, Kristaps Ansons from the Jelgava district showed the second best result, and the third – Dobele district commander Artūrs Rožkovs.
In the team competition, a fierce battle for first place unfolded between the teams of the Lithuanian Fire and Rescue Department and the Jelgava branch. The winner was decided by less than a second.
Firefighters rescuers from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Germany participated in the competition – 68 participants in the individual competition, and 14 rescue teams in the team competition.
The "Strong Firefighter" distance of the competition is based on a sport popular in Europe and the USA that tests the professional skills and physical fitness of firefighters.The distance consists of five stages – climbing the tower while carrying a bundle of hoses, rolling a roll of hoses onto the top platform of the tower, testing strength by hitting a rail with a hammer, pulling a hose full of water, and carrying a nearly 90 kg dummy to the finish line. The entire distance is covered in a firefighter's special protective suit, and in individual competitions, participants breathe with the help of a breathing apparatus. This simulates as closely as possible the conditions in which firefighters rescuers have to work in a fire.
The competition was held in Latvia for the third time.