Norway House firefighters are off to the National Firefighting Competition in Merritt, B.C., after defeating 14 other groups at the 20th annual Manitoba Association of Native Fire Fighters (MANFF) Regional Competition on July 10.

The competition was held in Winnipeg, and featured teams of firefighters from aboriginal communities across the province. Second place went to firefighters from Rolling River, while Sagkeeng came in third. Also competing, in order of finish, were firefighters from Cross Lake, Poplar River, Garden Hill, Ebb and Flow, Northlands (Lac Brochet), Peguis, Tataskweyak, Wuskwi Siphihk, Shamattawa, Lake Manitoba, and Waywayseecappo.

The teams had to compete in a variety of events that accurately simulated what firefighters often do at the scenes of real fire, including a high-rise tube relay, where they had to carry a fire hose through a tube that was meant to simulate a confined space. Other events included one where firefighters were given a 38-mm attack hose and had to shoot targets 100 feet away, a bucket relay which Daren Mini, an emergency management officer with MANFF, called “going back to the old days” as it involved the firefighters putting out a simulated fire with only water from buckets, and an endurance relay which Mini described as “simulating attacking a fire and rolling the hoses back up.”

There was also a fire safety and prevention component to the event, with people of all ages being encouraged to enhance their fire awareness.

Mini notes that there are nine bands in Manitoba who receive their fire services directly from MANFF, and seven tribal council fire prevention officers to represent the other 45 bands. “Our biggest challenge right now is an emergency number that anyone can phone,” Mini explained. “That hasn’t been done in First Nations, and we need to get that message out there. Unlike in bigger cities where anybody can call 911 and be put through to an emergency hotline, many smaller communities can only report fires through a seven-digit number, which is more difficult to memorize, and in some cases goes directly to the fire chief, who then has to contact a fire crew.

Winning teams from each province will meet in Merritt, B.C., on August 21 for the national finals. According to Mini, Manitoba is hoping to host the national competition in 2011. The last time it was held in Manitoba was 2005.