The Whitehorse Fire Department's combat challenge team is moving up the ranks in Western Canada.

The team recently returned from their second challenge event in the past two weeks the Edmonton Open, held Saturday, June 12 where they placed second in the relay with a time of one minute, 18 seconds and fourth as a team with a time of five minutes, 18 seconds. Team captain Brain Fedoriak was the winner in the individual competition, finishing with a time of one minute and 29 seconds.

'We're quite happy with our results,' said Fedoriak in an interview this morning. 'We really focused on our relay. I think our relay could be number one in Canada at this point.'

That's because while their time for the relay was technically second, one of the men fell during the competition, which Fedoriak estimates cost the team about five seconds. They missed out on first place by three seconds.

'Individually, we had some ups and downs,' admitted Fedoriak. 'Some guys were happy with their times, some of us were not so happy. Ultimately, our goal is to reach a team time of under five minutes. We've been as low as 5:12, so we don't have too far to go.'

For the first time, a second Yukon fire department entered the challenge. Ibex Valley Fire Department's Robert Dawe was the sole member competing and completed a clean course in two minutes and 31 seconds.

Events such as the Edmonton Open and the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge-Pacific Region in Delta, B.C., which the team attended at the end of May, consist of numerous physical stages.

First, firefighters get in full-gear, as if they were going into a fire, and get set at the bottom of a five-storey tower of stairs. The competitors then grab a high-rise pack, consisting of about 42 pounds (19 kilograms) of hose, and head to the top of the tower.

Once they put the high-rise pack in a bag, they must lean over the rail of the tower and pull up another 42-pound doughnut roll of hose from the ground to the top of the tower before running back down the stairs and completing a forceable entry exercise.

By that point, they're only about halfway through the individual competition.

The competitor still has to run 134 feet (41 metres) around pylons to a charged hose and head out 75 feet (23 m) while dragging the hose. Fedoriak estimates by the end of the 75 feet, it's equivalent to dragging 350 pounds (159 kg). Once out the required distance, they must crack the hose and hit a target, a simulation of putting water on a fire.

Now almost at the end, the athlete must grab Rescue Randy, a dummy which weighs 175 pounds (79 kg), and drag him back 100 feet (30 m).

Tired yet? Imagine doing all of that in a time of about two minutes.

'They call it the toughest two minutes in sports,' said Fedoriak. 'If anybody can do it in under two minutes, that's an incredible time. And every member of our team has done it in under two minutes, so everybody is doing incredible.'

And it seems the Whitehorse team, which is made up of three full-time firefighters and three volunteers, can only get better, as they've already improved tremendously in the past year.

At the competition in Delta last month, the team finished third in the relay with a time of 1:20, so in two weeks they improved their time by two seconds. Fedoriak also shaved off two seconds in the individual event he recorded a time of 1:31 in Delta.

And it's not that the Edmonton event was any easier than Delta for the Whitehorse crew. Fedoriak said the course, in terms of sequence and distance, is exactly the same. But the variables are the weather, and in Edmonton it actually rained for most of the day which makes for a slower course.

'And the (Rescue) Randy drag was uphill, which is not ideal,' said Fedoriak. 'Guys are tired there's more of a risk of a fall. So, it was a bit slower course than the one in Delta.'

Fellow firefighter Scott MacFarlane also put in a solid effort for the local squad, posting a personal best time of 1:49:47 and placing 23rd overall out of 74 competitors.

'We've been sort of waiting for him to break through the bar and he did it this weekend,' said Fedoriak.

Neil Poirier, who is also a trainer at Better Bodies Cross Training Centre, finished 24th with a time of 1:50 while James Paterson was 36th with a time of 1:59:13. Barry Blisner was right behind Paterson in 37th spot with a time of 1:59:73 and Glenn Regan placed 42nd with a time of 2:06.

The next competition for the firefighting combat crew will be nationals, held in Sherbrooke, Quebec, the first week of September. Fedoriak expects the Whitehorse crew will do well.

'We've sort of become one of the top teams in Western Canada right now,' he stated. 'With some hard work and training, it won't be long before we take a third or second place team time.'

Their ultimate goal, said the captain, is to make this year's world championships, which will be held in Las Vegas in November. In order for that to happen, they will need to hold a team time of less than seven minutes at nationals. Fedoriak is confident that is possible, with a lot of training.

Poirier has been working on a training routine with the team this year.

'He's got incredible knowledge of how to make oneself quicker,' said the captain.

Besides training on their mock challenge course at the Elijah Smith Building, the team also does strength training at the gym and will start an outdoor training regimen this week.

'Having a clean run is the ultimate thing,' said Fedoriak. 'Everybody can run quickly but it's not just a 1,000-metre dash. There is so much room for error.'

If the Whitehorse department makes the Canadian contingent for the world championships, they will have to raise between $7,000 and $8,000. It will cost them a pretty good chunk of change to travel to nationals as well. The squad drove down to Edmonton in two vans this past weekend to save on costs.