Fire Wire - Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services

The Fire Wire
Cherokee County Firefighters Win
Ironman Challenge
Page 6
Four firefighters with Cherokee County Fire and
Emergency Services placed first in the second
annual Ironman Challenge that was held on May
17th at Cumberland Mall, just north of Atlanta.
The Ironman Challenge is done in partnership with
the Metro Atlanta Fire Officers Association and
showcases the expertise and physical abilities of
metro Atlanta firefighters in a head-to-head-skills
competition. According to Cherokee County
firefighter, Kevin Hamilton, “The course was 7
stations with a four man team. The first station was a
quick dress, you had to pull a 220 pound tire, with 50
feet of a 3 inch hose line attached, down 75 feet and
back. The next challenges included advancing a 1-3/
4 inch charged hose though serpentine, a forcible
entry exercise, go through a 2 foot by 2 foot by 8 foot tube, over an A frame and then breach a wall before
heading to the finish line with all tools, team members and nozzle. All team members had to finish each
station completely before you could move to the next.”
The event was a head to head heat with the two fastest times racing each other in the finals for first place. A
Cobb County team had an original time of 6:15 and Cherokee County placed second with a time of 7:09.
When the final heat was held, Cherokee County firefighters beat Cobb County by 1 second with a time of
6:58.
Besides Hamilton, the other members of the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services team were
Jonathan Gottfried, Alex Adams and Frank Madonna. The team will be receiving a trophy and a couple sets
of Paratech Irons.
Ehlke Toughest Firefighter
Cherokee County Firefighter, Rick Ehlke won the Toughfest Firefighter
Competition at the Georgia Police and Fire Games that were held in
Dalton, Georgia last month.
Firefighters had to participate in a series of events consisting of a high
rise pack carry, hose hoist, forcible entry, hose advance, and victim
rescue.
Ehlke won 1st place in his age category (45-49), plus, he won the
overall category as well with a time of 2:31.44. The second place
winner was a 36 year old firefighter from Columbus, Georgia, who was
approximately 10 minutes behind Ehlke’s time. In Ehlke’s age category,
he won the competition handidly by defeating the second place winner
by over 30 minutes.