July 29, 2004

Firefighters Summer Olympic Games a blazing success

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer



Firefighter teams from throughout the state pitted their skills and strategies against each other in their Summer Olympic Games last week in sports from surfing to ice hockey, and softball to bass fishing. They came from Sonoma to San Diego to compete, but even more, they came to be together, and it was, as San Jose Fire Chief Jeffrey Chet had promised, a week to remember.

At the ice hockey face-off between South Bay and San Diego at Logitech Ice, fans screamed for their team, pounded on the glass, and rang out their excitement with cowbells. Both teams played their hearts out, enjoying the opportunity to take to the ice before delighted families and friends. The firefighters’ energy and drive was also in full swing during softball games held at the Twin Creeks Sports Complex in Sunnyvale.

During the Junior Firefighters Olympics, over 150 children shared in their own night of friendly competition with events ranging from racing through an obstacle course to stretching a bungee cord attached to their waists as far as possible, to quickly dressing in firefighters gear.

“All week long, the adults have been competing, and they really wanted to have a night of fun for the kids,” said firefighter Capt. Allison Cabral. These events give the kids a chance to know what their parents go through when they’re working at their jobs. The bungee run simulates dragging a hose, the survivor’s obstacle course simulates climbing over fences or climbing in small places in a building, and the turnout race features actual turnouts that the firefighters wear. As firefighters have to be rolling down the road in 60 seconds, they need to learn to dress really fast.”

“It’s great for the kids,” observed public safety dispatcher coordinator Deanna Nateo. “It builds team spirit. We’re trying to make it educational for them, and at the same time, fun.”

At a poolside luau presented by the San Jose Firefighters Local 230 and the Hyatt San Jose, the firefighters and their families relished the chance to relax and kick back, while watching professional dancers, as well as some of their own, participate in the show.

The proceeds from the week’s events will benefit the San Jose Firefighters Burn Foundation, the San Jose Firefighters Museum, and the Ken Heredia Scholarship Fund.

This year was the first time that San Jose has hosted the Firefighters Olympics, but it will undoubtedly not be the last. The firefighters and their families enjoyed the venue at the Hyatt San Jose so much, that there was talk around the pool of San Jose possibly hosting the Summer Olympics again in two years.

The Firefighters 33rd Annual California Firefighter’s Summer Olympics may be over, but the memories and friendships will remain.