TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (USTCNS) --- In the International Firefighter Combat Challenge held in Las Vegas from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, the Travis team finished 23rd and were among the top 10 percent of individual competitors.

Travis's five-man team competed against 85 international teams and 477 individual competitors from fire departments across the Untied States, Canada, Germany and England. They were Staff Sgts. Mike Melton and Ted Durate, and Airmen 1st Class Harry Meyers, Bryan Driscoll and Mike Romano. Each member of the team performed against the clock with the top three individual times added together to yield a team total.

During the competition, firefighters wore full bunker gear and breathing apparatus. This simulated the physical demands of real life firefighting by competing on a linked series of five tasks.

Competitors climbed to the top of a five-story hydraulic tower carrying a 44-pound high-rise pack and then hoisted a 45-pound hose roll to the top. Next, they descended to the ground floor where they demonstrated chopping skills by swinging a nine-pound shot mallet on the end of a 160-pound steel beam. After this, they walked 140 feet to the fourth station where they advanced an attack hose a distance of 75 feet. The fifth and last leg of the competition consisted of dragging a life-sized 'victim' a distance of 100 feet.

The five-man team posted an Air Force winning time of 5:42:89 in team competition. It defeated Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., with a time of 1:28 compared to 1:35. Melton posted an Air Force best individual time of 1:42:63 in individual competition.(FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).