Local 1040 Members Home After Successful World Finals

Rapid City, S.D. - The Rapid City Fire Department Combat Challenge team has returned to Rapid City after a successful week at the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge World Challenge XXV in Montgomery, Alabama. The team finished 15^th out of 41 in the team standings.

The team, comprised of Firefighter/Medic Justin Perkins, Firefighter/Paramedic Chris “Paco” Ciocarlin, Firefighter/Medic Marshall Keefe, Firefighter/Paramedic Kris Anderson, and Firefighter/Medic Mark Falcon, had four members in the top 100 individual runs. Four members of the five member team posted personal best runs during the World Challenge XXV.

The “Lion’s Den”, reserved for those competitors that run the course in less than or equal to 100 seconds, now includes Firefighters Keefe and Anderson after runs of 1:37.30 and 1:39.93 respectively. Perkins, who was already a member of the “Lion’s Den”, also turned in a qualifying run of 1.39.64 during the finals. Falcon turned in a personal best 2.01.00 in only the third competition of his career.

During the Team Open Relay competition, Local 1040 members ran a department-record 1.17.21. This was good enough for 21^st overall out of 56.

The Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge is billed as “the toughest two minutes in sports”. During the competition, firefighters dressed in full personal protective equipment (PPE), including Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) run an obstacle course designed to push their limits mentally and physically.

Competitors begin with a five-story stair climb while shoulder-carrying a 42 lb. hose pack. Once they reach the top, competitors pull a separate 42 lb. hose pack and 7 lb. rope up the five story tower and deposit the rolled hose in a box. Then, the competitor runs down the tower to a machine known as the “Keiser Force Machine”. During this obstacle, competitors must drive a 160 lb. beam five feet with a nine-and-a-half pound sledge hammer. Upon completion, competitors run 140 feet, picks up a charged 1.75 inch diameter hose-line and sprints 80 feet where they spray water quickly onto a small target. The competitor must then drop the hose, pick up a 175 lb. mannequin and drag the mannequin backwards for 100 feet. Most competitors can finish the course quicker than the author of this release can write about it.

These employees exemplify that health and wellness are the key components to a firefighter’s ability to perform job related tasks quickly, efficiently, and safely. The Rapid City Fire Department is very proud of Team Local 1040 and their performance on the world stage. No one within our organization is surprised by their performance as we have the opportunity to see the dedication that they put into their craft on a near daily basis. We congratulate Team 1040 members on an outstanding showing and thank them for representing our department, city, and state in such an honorable fashion.

For questions or comment related to this release, please contact Lt. Jim Bussell, Rapid City Fire Department Public Information Officer, at (605)-863-0061 or via e-mail at jim.bussell@rcgov.org.

Team 1040 at the World Challenge. Team members L to R: FF/Medic Justin Perkins, FF/Medic Marshall Keefe, FF/Paramedic Kris Anderson, FF/Medic Mark Falcon, FF/Paramedic Chris "Paco" Ciocarlin

Photo Courtesy RCFD Combat Challenge Team

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