For Ottawa firefighter Marisa Tremblay, the physical demands and passion of the job extend far beyond the firehall. Tremblay, who has been an Ottawa firefighter for seven years, also competes in FireFit, a gruelling, roughly two-minute competition that simulates real tasks firefighters must deal with on the job. “Everything they make for the fire department for some reason is heavy,” she says. “In the competition, you’re always in full gear. You run up the stairs with a 45-pound pack on your shoulder and at the top of the stairs, you toss that bundle. Then you lift up a rope with another hose reel attached to it, and then you run down the stairs. You hit a kaiser with a sledgehammer, which is like a big block of metal pretty much. You run through some cones, pull a hose, shoot a target, and then you drag a dummy down to the finish line.” Tremblay first started competing in FireFit in 2013 while studying fire science at Lambton College. After joining the Ottawa Fire Services, she helped revive the Ottawa FireFit team following the pandemic. This year, Tremblay finished first in Montreal Que., second in Brantford, Ont., and third at the national championships in Fredericton N.B. Now, she and her Ottawa teammates are heading to Las Vegas for the world competition in October, which brings together firefighters from Canada, the United States and Europe. “It’s going to be pretty epic,” Tremblay said. “It opens up the gates of all the FireFit Europe, there will be German teams, Lithuania, Norway, and then you get all the Americans and all of Canada too.” The Ottawa team is self-funded and relies on sponsors to help cover the costs of travelling to competitions and purchasing specialized equipment. For Tremblay, her competitions are also backed by the support of her wife, Katie, and their four children. “They’re the best little cheerleaders,” she says. “They’re great” Whatever happens in Las Vegas, Tremblay says the FireFit community is a big part of what keeps her coming back. “It’s such a great sense of community and family and that everybody’s encouraging each other.”
