Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — The Rapid City Fire Department’s Challenge Team broke some records during the World Championships in Nashville last week.
This competition saw teams from all over the nation as well as close to 20 other countries.
“So no matter what country or state, we’re all firefighters, so that doesn’t change. It was cool being at worlds, meeting firefighters from Ukraine, Lithuania, Canada and Brazil,” Firefighter EMT Bryce Cartee said.
“We did well, we performed as we thought we would. We had a female athlete that set a world record. Unfortunately the next day somebody beat her by like three-tenths of a second. So that’s just competition, which was amazing to see,” Firefighter and Team Captain Danny Sandvig said.
Firefighter Morgan Helton was the one to set the record and ended the competition finishing second for all women under 40.
Bryce Cartee also came away with Rookie of the Year.
“I was pretty shocked at first, I mean there are hundreds of other guys that were more than capable and qualified to get that kind of an award. But looking forward to next year and hoping to be in that lion’s den getting some PR’s,” Cartee said.
While awards are nice, the competitions also translate to everyday firefighter work.
“Being strong, having good cardio, eating well. Those are all good things that we are pushing each other for. So not only is the team doing really well on a national stage and a world stage, but that all goes back to our community, goes back to the department that’s setting the foundation for us every single day,” Sandvig said.
The team is taking a small break following their successful season but plans to return to training soon.
