The drill grounds at the Connecticut Fire Academy in Windsor Locks, Connecticut once again served as the location for the annual Explorer & Junior Firefighter Muster & Challenge on October 23, 2005. Open to any organized junior or explorer, firefighter program from around the state, the Junior Firefighter Challenge is a competition which tests the participants skills and teamwork in several fire service related challenges. This year's competition consisted of seven individual timed events with first place awards being given for the lowest elapsed time in each event. The team with the lowest combined elapsed time for all seven events would be awarded a Best All-Around award.

The morning started out chilly with overcast skies threatening rain, but that could not dampen the spirits of Simsbury's Junior Firefighters and their hopes for a fifth championship. Naturally, this year's team had experienced the usual influx of some new faces. Captain Rich Driscoll had inherited the responsibility for the Fire Company's Junior Firefighter Program at the beginning of this year, and he was certainly eager to continue the tradition of excellence, as were all of Simsbury's Junior Firefighters.

	One of the many Simsbury traditions at the Junior Firefighter Challenge.

This year, Simsbury would be competing against thirteen other teams who undoubtedly were looking to end the program's astounding four-year run as champions. It was rumored that one team had even been practicing since early Spring in preparation for this year's competition.

Just as in years past, the Junior Firefighters started their morning by neatly laying-out their turnout gear and engaging in calisthenics. This ritual, which Simsbury was the first to initiate many Challenges ago, continues to be imitated by opposing teams year-after-year. After the officials had given the morning briefing to all the teams, it was time to go to work.

Zander Fleming quickly rolls the hose while his team mates stand ready.		Paul Alleva knocks the targets down with his pinpoint aim.

The first event for Simsbury was the Roll, Pump and Squirt. This event required one member to first roll a fifty-foot section of hose line and then return to help a team mate fill an Indian Can with water. The next team member would then advance with the Can to a marker and use the hand-pump to knock three targets down. After doffing the can, both members would then help a third team mate advance a charged hose line to another marker and knock a cone from its pedestal with the fire stream.

The team expected to get of to a good start with this event, as the squad had completed this evolution in under a minute during practices. Unfortunately there were a few minor hiccups throughout the evolution, culminating with an inadequate fire stream from insufficient water pressure, which hindered the efficient ejection of the cone from the pedestal. Fortunately every team would have to overcome this same problem.

The squad was somewhat disappointed with their time in the event. Their effort however would end up being only one second slower than the event winner. Unbeknownst to the everyone, Simsbury was off and running, and definitely in the hunt for another championship.

	Paul Alleva, Maggie Boudreau & Kayla Smith begin to sort through the couplings.		The squad begins to make the connection having selected the appropriate adapters.

The second evolution of the day was a new event called Make The Connection. This required three team mates to use the supplied couplings to connect two lengths of hose to hydrant and flow water through the line. The complication was that it required not only different sized couplings to properly make the connection between all the elements, but the participants also had to account for male-to-male connections, and threaded to Storz coupling connections. Once again, minor difficulties in the evolution made the difference between registering a winning time, and registering a competitive time.

Simsbury found themselves at the Fire Academy's maze trailer for the third event. Participants in the Hose Maze Crawl are required to advance through the labyrinth using a hose line as a guide, and navigate over, under and around numerous horizontal and vertical obstacles, while blindfolded. The team must constantly stay in physical contact with the hose line while maneuvering, and also maintain continual physical and verbal contact with each other. This exercise is designed to emulate how firefighters in a zero-visibility, smoke-filled environment, must sometimes follow a hose line in the correct direction to safely exit a building.

	Navigating the last obstacle and exiting the trailer.

The maze trailer is enclosed so there was not much to see as the team of Mark Sperandio, Addison Brown and Zander Fleming worked their way through the course. However to those standing outside awaiting their exit, there was not doubt that they were maintaining verbal contact, or moving through the maze in a rapid manner as illustrated by the shaking of the trailer.

The squad tumbled out of the trailer and it was apparent to everyone that they had registered a good time. The official timekeeper recorded a time of 1:44, which would end up being fifteen seconds faster than any other team. Spirits suddenly rose within the team, as did the hope for another Best All-Around award.

The fourth event was the Stretcher Relay in which a squad of six was required to carry a litter containing a weighted dummy over a course containing several obstacles. During the evolution, the litter was not allow to touch the ground and it could only be advanced when all six members were in physical contact with the basket.

Moving the basket through the tube.			Advancing to the next obstacle.			Navigating the final barrier.

The squad went to work and easily navigated the obstacles without hesitation or any penalties. For the second time in the Challenge, Simsbury's Juniors would finish only one second behind the individual event winner.

The squad quickly jumps from their cots and works to don their gear.		Once seated with their seatbelts fastened, the evolution is completed.

Up next was the Midnight Alarm event which simulates firefighters awakening from their sleep to an alarm, donning their gear and scrambling to the apparatus to answer a call. This event required the four-member squad to spring from their cots, properly don their boots, turnout coat, helmet and gloves, and then race to an apparatus. The evolution would end when all four members were seated in the vehicle with their seatbelts fastened. The squad from Simsbury once again turned-in an excellent time.

	An efficient fill and hand-off process was key to the success of the evolution.

The Bucket Brigade station was sixth event of the day for the Juniors. The evolution required the six-member team to fill buckets from a drop tank and then transport the water to a barrel and fill it to the required level. Each competing squad was free to decide how they would tackle the event as there were no set guidelines on how they had to move the water, other than using the buckets.

With the start of the timer, the squad ran towards the drop tank and for the buckets. For the first few seconds there was slight disorder as everyone was waiting for a full bucket to carry, but that quickly corrected itself once the team established their rhythm. At the heart of the pace was Paul Alleva who incredibly, was filling buckets with only one hand. He would scoop a bucket into the tank and fill it, then hand it off to a team mate while simultaneously taking their empty with his free hand.

Four members of the squad quickly carried the buckets down to Jeff Holmes who emptied the water into the barrel and kept the rhythm intact. In very short order the barrel was filled, the evolution completed, and Simsbury had recorded another impressive time in an event, winning by fourteen seconds.

	The beginning of the last evolution.

Simsbury found themselves at the Hose Bed Repacking station for not only their last individual event of the day, but for the final evolution of the 2005 Challenge. The squad was striving for a first-place finish in this event, and a first-place finish overall. This final task would fall to team captain Chris Mathiason, Maggie Boudreau, Addison Brown and Zander Fleming.

After receiving their instructions from the station judge, all four Juniors went to work to repack two-hundred feet of five-inch supply line. Addison Brown and Zander Fleming scrambled up to the hose bed and neatly began to repack the hose. Maggie Boudreau systematically fed the hose up as Chris Mathiason worked the lengths closer to the tailboard. Everyone was careful to work safely as a time penalty now could be disastrous.

With the last coupling laid in the hose bed, the two Juniors prudently climbed down from the apparatus and the squad raced for the finish line. The evolution was complete, as was the 2005 Junior Firefighter Challenge.

	Lead Advisor Captain Rich Driscoll and members of the Bucket Brigade squad accept the trophy for winning the event.

After about thirty minutes, the announcement was made for all of the teams to convene at the judge's table for the awards. Members from past Simsbury Challenge teams had attended the day's event to cheer on their friends, and they gathered with the Junior Firefighters, their parents and advisors to support them one more time.

First, each team was presented a participation ribbon for competing in the Challenge. The first individual award presented was for the Bucket Brigade event and Simsbury was called to accept the trophy. The announcer told the team to stay put because Simsbury had also won the Hose Maze Crawl event, and the members were presented a second trophy. Although the squads from Simsbury had registered some great times in some of the other events, the remaining five event trophies were awarded to competing teams who had bested them.

Finally, it was time to present the trophy for Best All-Around. The Juniors had trained hard, performed well, and exhibited sportsmanship throughout the competition. Win or lose, they had achieved a goal that could not be awarded; they had carried themselves admirably and represented the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company in the highest manner.

First, the third-place team was announced and then second-place team. Everyone was nervous and eagerly anticipating the announcement.

And the winner is . . .

SIMSBURY!

Yes, the Fire Company's Junior Firefighter Program had earned an amazing fifth-consecutive Best All-Around award. Under the direction of Captain Rich Driscoll, and with the assistance of many other advisors, the tradition of excellence had indeed continued. As if the victory alone was not impressive enough, Simsbury had placed ahead of the second-place team by and astounding one minute and fifty-four seconds. Congratulations to everyone on all their hard work and accomplishments.