Altus firefighter excels at 'the toughest two minutes in sports'

  • Published
  • By Kevin Chandler
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  It's important for Senior Airman Steven Jacobsen, a firefighter assigned to the 97th Civil Engineering Squadron, to train regularly and ensure he can perform his job well in extreme and demanding situations. But he also practices aspects of firefighting for another reason--the thrill of competition.

Airman Jacobsen is a member of Team Dr. Pepper, a squad of firefighters who compete in the Firefighter Combat Challenge. Events in the challenge parallel skills used in fighting fires; including climbing a five-story tower with a 40 pound hose pack, pulling another hose up the tower with a rope, running down the tower to hammer a sled, then spraying a 10 foot target with water and dragging a 175 pound mannequin to safety. While the course is an endurance test by itself, participants compete wearing a mask, breathing apparatus and 50 pounds of gear.

Teams can compete in individual events or as a five member relay team, where the event is broken into sections. Winners for both events complete the tasks in the shortest amount of time.

Assistant Fire Chief Jimmy Rogers said the event is known as the "toughest two minutes in sports."

In recent years the Altus team has won several individual competitions and the relay team has won three national championships and one world title.

But Airman Jacobsen says winning awards is only of the competition's benefits. "You go out there and you're individually trying to beat your best time. But you also have all your fellow firefighters from all over the United States (there). They're rooting you on, giving you tips." Airman Jacobsen, who boasts a personal best time of 1:52 for the course, says the challenge is a unique competition.

"It's not like any other sport," he explained. "It's not where everybody keeps their secrets close to their chest. Everybody's out to help each other get their personal best."

While the event may only last a few minutes, the preparation each team member puts in requires non-stop dedication and effort. "The competition, it's over in a minute, two minutes at the most," Airman Jacobsen said, "but training is every day, for at least an hour or maybe two." Firefighters train to improve overall endurance and technique needed for individual events.

Airman Jacobsen says friendly competition finds its way into practice sessions also. "Randy Gipson, he's the rope man for the over-40 team, he has experience but he can't beat me. He tries, but he'll never be able to do it," Airman Jacobsen jokingly remarked.

Airman Jacobsen hopes his experiences with Team Dr. Pepper will help him start a Firefighter Combat Challenge team in Alaska when he moves there next month.