Firefighters travel to compete in first-ever Heroes for Heroes Challenge to help veterans

FREEPORT, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Monday is Veterans Day, a day to honor those who served our country.

To show their support, groups- made up of a different kind of hero- met Saturday to raise money through some fun competition.

Saturday was the first-ever Heroes for Heroes Firefighter Challenge, hosted by Walton County Fire Rescue. A handful of teams gathered at Hammock Bay in Freeport. Most of the teams were made of firefighters from different departments around the county and panhandle, but one team drove roughly eight hours from Cape Coral, and another team came all the way down from Louisville, Kentucky, to be at the event.

Those participating had to do a relay race with the following firefighting-inspired challenges:

• Putting on their full gear
• Forced entry through a locked door
• Charged hose pull
• Kaiser sled
• Dummy drag
• CPR compressions on a dummy

The challenges were done one by one as quickly as possible, each team being timed to see who could do it the quickest.

Each team paid entry fees and found sponsors for the event to raise money. The crews with Walton County Fire Rescue that made the event a reality said they are dedicated to using the event to help veterans.

”We identified that we’re going to try to give to a different military branch each year,” Walton County Fire Rescue Fire Marshal Jeremy Radney said. “A sponsorship for a different type of military charity, so we chose Fisher House this year, they’re an awesome partner to work with.”

The Fisher House, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of veterans. The Fisher House of the Emerald Coast Executive Director Mia Hughes said the WCFR crews reached out earlier this year, and that they are honored to work together.

”Just pulling into Hammock Bay and seeing all the flags and seeing the first responders kind of honing their skills… For us, that’s what we do in the military, the military runs toward a problem and that’s what the firefighters are doing here today, and it literally gives me chill bumps to think about (them) honing their craft and blessing military families that are staying with us for hope and healing,” Hughes said.

Radney said the plans for this event have been in the works since before Covid, and that they are excited to keep the Heroes for Heroes Firefighter Challenge going for years to come.

Copyright 2024 WJHG. All rights reserved.