Mate,
Are you going in the Climb The Sky Tower
event put on by the NZ Fire Service?.
Myself, SFF Lieth, SO Larsen(Hinds) and a few others are looking to come up there and have a good contest with you and the guys from Titters and them "people" from Remuera.
We've been doing drills with sand filled hoses over our backs, in full kit and BA and with smoke and heat.
I realise that probably isn't allowed, but this is a mans game.
The toughest survive.

Hi Mike, have done the climb 3 times , last one about 3 years ago.

Now our Titirangi guys all want to do it in B.A. and to be honest I can't be bothered to carry all that extra weight the 1080 steps.

If you want to do it just in shorts + T shirt, I will give it a go.

May see you there

Raymond RODALCO

Ray,
I realise that there isn't going to be any smoke or heat, unless the boys from Otara
start smoking thier P.
I'm going to be the Crew OIC and I'd like a good fight.
When is it mate?.
1080 steps?, they made us do that in darkened BA masks at Island Bay back in the 1980's, carrying a portable pump and a length of hose filled with sand over our backs.
Don't tell me they've gone soft on you Northerners??.
Good Lord!!.

Hi Mike,

I had a briefing with the Titirangi Sky Tower teams yesterday which do their intermediate training on the staircases behind the Lopdell House three times a week.

Titirangi is putting up 2 crews of three to do the 10000 steps in B.A.
which means two guys have to do the run three times and one crew member has to climb the stairs four times.

The NZ Fireservices will provide a BA tender to supply extra BA cylinders for crews as required.

Looking forward to see you there.

As I said in my e-mail Ray, I won't be there.
33kV Live Glove and Barrier refreshers take precident over this.
As you said in your reply, there is always next year, but I'm not sure that I'll still be a Fire Service Member this time next year.
Fire-fighting as it is Ray, is getting "dangerous", not from a structural point of view, but from the fact that we are handed people from the local WINZ office to come and try out to be a Volunteer Fire-fighter.
Most of these women are on a Domestic Purposes Benefit and have no intention of being a FF at all, but they waste our time with interviews.
Someone told them that if they volunteered for work like this, they could get an extension to thier benefits.
This is wrong, Birthright Ashburton were sent a letter of censure from NZ Fire Service Ashburton, in that we are not encouraging benefit fraud.
If you have to get a job, get one, don't come to us to lie for you!.

Mike, the Sky tower run is this coming Saturday.
We, Titirangi, put in two teams of four to do the 10,000 steps in donned B.A.

3 guys have to do the stairs 3 times and one has to do it 4 times. for each team.

With age comes wisdom I guess.
I support the team, but won't run.

regards Ray

Thanks for that Ray,
No I won't be there at all, in fact our team pulled out some weeks ago after they were a member short.{Me}
I was sorry to let the team down, we did a LOT of fitness training to do this event.
I'm probably the fittest at the moment, as I have ever been, especially with respect to working in Breathing Apparatus.
It has had it's up side.
Go for it mate, how many Fire Service teams competing do you know Ray?.
Hope to see you in the next Fire Rescue magazine!.

How did the climb go Ray?.
Were your guys "wearing"?.
As in BA I mean.
My first encounter with BA was at the Temuka Fire Station.
Given a blacked out mask and a set on my back.
I thought I knew the station inside out.
Sent into the social room and turned around 3 times, find your way out and climb into the front seat of Temuka 861, before you run out of air (Low presssure Cylinder).
Getting out of the social room was the hardest bit.
My whistle blew at the doorway to the engine bay (20ats left).
I sat in the seat as I ran out of air.
It is a worrying thought when you can't breathe, to take your mask off means you fail.
You take your mask when you are told to.
Unreal eh?

Hi Mike, sorry I didn't reply earlier on the Sky Tower run.
Our guys survived. It's a very hard B.A. exercise.
it took between 22 and 27 minutes for most of our teams.
one of the bigger guys ran out of air before reaching the top, but continuied anyway with his mask off.
Titirangi in general did well i reckon and it's a great effort from our troops who participated.
I think the times will be on the Sky Tower Run under Google, still the B.A. component is not fully recognised yet.
I will get exact details from our guys on Monday and will post the results.
But they all did 3 and some did 4 runs in donned B.A.
Cheers
Raymond