Medicine Hat firefighters bring home medals from Firefighter Challenge World Championship

With Seymour joining for the relay event for ages 40-49, the group also won gold in the municipal category and bronze in the international category.

FireFit is a firefighter fitness competition that tests competitors’ physical abilities and teamwork.

Seymour said the team’s results are especially meaningful after all three dealt with injuries over the past year.

“We all were, this last year injured one way or another somehow,” Seymour said.

“We were able to come back successful.”

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Steven Seymour, Josh Fauth, and Jason Labash standing in Las Vegas with their sponsorship banner. (Image Credit: Submitted Photo)

Seymour, 48, has served as the FireFit team’s unofficial captain since it formed in 2006. Labash is also 48, while Fauth is 40.

The competition brought together participants from more than 20 countries.

Seymour said it allowed them to represent Medicine Hat and its sponsors on an international stage.

“We all love competing, and it’s motivation to stay in better shape so we can do our job better or to be healthier for our family, to try to keep up with our kids or our life in general,” Seymour said.

He adds that the group has a lot of support from their families.

“Which we’re very grateful for. They know it’s a positive thing. It helps us to be better people, physically active, even the mental part of it, a lot more people recognizing that mental health is important and having the balance between physical and mental health is so important.”

He added that teamwork is central to the sport, much like firefighting itself.

The Las Vegas event marked the end of the team’s competition season.

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Photos of the Medicine Hat FireFit team in competition. (Image Credit: Submitted Photos)

The team typically begins competing in late May or early June, with the Canadian national championships held in September.

Next year’s nationals are scheduled for Edmonton, and Seymour hopes to grow the team from about five members to as many as 10, potentially building both younger and older groups.

He also credited the team’s sponsors for helping cover the costs of travelling to competitions across Canada and internationally.

“If it wasn’t for the sponsors, I don’t think we would even see the success that we’ve been able to achieve,” Seymour said.

Early in the week, during individual competition, Fauth completed the course in 1:41.42, becoming a member of the Lion’s Den.

An honour given to 40-and-over male competitors who complete the course in under two minutes.

Overall, Canadian firefighters finished second in medals at the event with 103 medals, behind the United States’ 117 medals.

Canada led in gold medals with 50 compared to the Americans’ 30.

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(Image Credit: Firefighter Challenge Championship Series)

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat firefighters bring home medals from Firefighter Challenge World Championship

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