Fire Olympiad underway in Cayo
There are only twenty days left before the start of the Summer Olympics in Athens. And while the men and women in our next story may not be on the same level as the athletes who will go for the gold in Greece, the competition will by no means be any less intense.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It started eleven years ago to help boost morale and inspire healthy competition among fire-fighters. Since then, the annual Fire Olympiad has become one of the most hotly contested activities within the National Fire Service.
Henry Baizar, Fire Chief
“What happens here is that we come together and we do the same thing we do on an every day basis, but we will do it in the form of a competition and the guys compete. The fire-fighters who are selected on different teams are the best that we have around the country. So, it is a very competitive competition and it is something that the fire-fighters look forward to.”
The 2004 edition of the event started this morning at the Norman Broaster Stadium in San Ignacio. A total of ten teams will be competing in twelve drills and the group which completes their task in the least amount of time, wins the Olympiad.
Henry Baizar
“It?s the normal hose drill and pump drill and ladder drill and all the things we do at fires, but there are rules to this competition. You must do it as per it is written in the book as we do it normally because you cannot jeopardize safety. There are a lot of safety aspect in doing these drills. So, if you want to short cut the thing, short cut the drill then there are penalties. Every mistake you make, we add on ten seconds to your time.”
While the fire-fighters from Belize City are defending champions, Fire Chief Henry Baizar says it is difficult to say who will walk away with the 2004 trophy, because in previous years there have been some close competitions. Baizar says the response to the annual event has been upbeat and financial support encouraging.
Henry Baizar
“We are getting a lot of cooperation from the public at large. In this year?s event and for the past couple of years, Belize Electricity Limited has been our major sponsor and this year again; they are our number one sponsor for this competition.”
The competition can carry a price tag as high as ten thousand dollars. Some of that money also comes from drives held by the fire-fighters themselves. Just in case you are wondering…there will be fire-fighters and trucks on standby at all stations across the country in case there is an emergency.
In 2000 Belize City fire-fighters won the competition but the following year lost it to their colleagues from Orange Walk. But the north did not hold on to the trophy for too long. In 2002 it went into the hands of the fire-fighters from Santa Elena Town. Then in 2003 it returned to the first champions of the competition. Will the men and women from Belize City hold on the title? On Monday?s newscast we?ll let you know.
