►Margate
Explorers take top honors at competition
Springs is third, Lauderhill, fourth
The Margate Fire Rescue Explorers has
taken top honors.
For the third consecutive year, the team was awarded first
place overall at the seventh annual Fire Rescue Explorer
competition, which took place at the new
Coral Springs Fire Academy. The eight-hour event tested
the skills and endurance of 85 explorers from nine local
cities, as well as from cities in Martin and Pasco counties.
Explorers, volunteers ages 14-21, compete yearly to
demonstrate the skills and knowledge they have gained for
potential careers in firefighting or related fields. Skills
include hose deployment, ladders, combat challenge, bucket
brigade, dry-hose roll, first aid, trauma, search-and-rescue
and a barrel push.
Margate's team won trophies in eight of the nine events and
was awarded first place overall. Second place overall went
to
Boca Raton Fire Rescue Explorers. Third place went to
Coral Springs Fire Explorers, while explorers from
Lauderhill and Martin County took fourth and fifth
places, respectively.
"Even though we practice long and hard, it is still an
exciting moment and a surprise when they call out the
winners," said Nancy Moser, adviser with the Margate team.
"Only one or two seconds separates winners from losers. That
is just the blink of an eye, so it is never a sure thing
until the last minute."
Margate Explorer Chris Cavalieri has wanted to be a
firefighter since he attended a fire safety class at age 11.
"The best thing about Explorer training is that it teaches
you how to protect yourself and your family if anything
happens," he said.
Cavalieri said the most difficult event during the
competition was search-and-rescue, during which teams
entered a dark building and attempted to find stranded
survivors.
"It is the hottest and most grueling thing you can imagine,"
he said. "You cannot see a thing."
For teammate Josh Young, the toughest event was the bucket
brigade, which involved running about 25 feet from a water
source to an empty barrel and filling it until a ping-pong
ball floats to the top and falls out. It can take 20 to 40
round-trips, depending on how much water is spilled.
"It wore me out," said Young, who is in Emergency Medical
Technician training.
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Michael Schmieman can be reached at
mschmieman@tribune.com or 954-574-5392.