Following a strong showing at the Prairie Regional FireFit Championships, five-person team from Whiteshell Fire Department delivers remarkable performance at National Championships
Pinawa, MB – October 15, 2024 – Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, is pleased to announce that a team of firefighters from its Whiteshell Laboratories Fire Department made their mark at the National FireFit Championships recently held in Kamploops, BC, in September. In addition to bringing home a silver medal in the Industrial Relay, CNL teammates Mitch Kubas, Evan Michaels, Brett Brydges, Kyle Friesen and Brad Russel would go on to achieve a Top 10 national overall finish in an event that included over 135 elite competitors from across Canada, the United States and Europe.
Their success at the National Championships followed a strong showing at the Prairie Regional Fire Championships in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, in August, an event that gathered the most talented firefighters from across Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nunavut. In what also proved to be a fierce competition, the Whiteshell Fire Department team took home a bronze medal in the Team Relay, while Team Captain Mitch Kubas showcased his individual firefighting skill by finishing in the Top 12 of the entire competition with a personal best time.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the Whiteshell Fire team for throwing themselves into this competition, demonstrating grit, teamwork and determination, and achieving outstanding results against the very best firefighters in Canada and internationally,” commented Brent MacDonald, the Fire Chief at the Whiteshell Laboratories campus. “This past year has not been without its challenges, which make these achievements all the more impressive. Mitch, Evan, Brett, Kyle and Brad have not only demonstrated their resilience as a team, but they have turned our challenges into opportunities for growth. I think this represents a new chapter for the Whiteshell Fire Department and I want to congratulate these five outstanding individuals for this amazing accomplishment.”
The team’s performance in the FireFit Championships was particularly impressive since each member was able to shave off between 8 to 17 seconds from their previous individual records, together setting a team best run of 1:18:42 in the Industrial Relay. Individually, Mitch Kubas also finished with a personal best time of 1:26:99, making him the second fastest firefighter from Manitoba ever recorded, and placing him in the Top 30 nationally. The team intends to continue competing in future FireFit competitions, hoping to build on their performance and everything that they learned at the national championships.
First held in 1994, the FireFit Championships challenges first responders with a variety of demanding and exciting tasks commonly performed in emergency situations. The spirit of FireFit is to showcase the demands of firefighting, with competitors dressed as they would at the scene of a fire. FireFit Challenges include hose hoists, forcible entry, victim rescues and more challenges that are completed within the FireFit Canada rule parameters, time limits and participation guidelines. According to MacDonald, these events are incredibly important for firefighters to maintain the necessary skills and capabilities in what is a difficult and challenging career. It can come down to fractions of a second in competition and real life.
“Our entry into FireFit was actually self-initiated by our firefighters at Whiteshell, who held their own internal competition to choose our best competitors, giving everyone the opportunity to compete. They recognize that FireFit competitions are not just about medals – they are crucial for maintaining our firefighters’ physical and mental fitness,” adds MacDonald. “Firefighters face unpredictable and dangerous situations on a daily basis, and being in peak condition is vital for their safety and effectiveness on the job. Events like the FireFit Championships motivate our team, pushing them to train harder, improve their skills, and build camaraderie.”
For more information on CNL, including its emergency response capabilities at the Whiteshell Laboratories, please visit www.cnl.ca.
About CNL
As Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology laboratory and working under the direction of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), CNL is a world leader in the development of innovative nuclear science and technology products and services. Guided by an ambitious corporate strategy known as Vision 2030, CNL fulfills three strategic priorities of national importance – restoring and protecting the environment, advancing clean energy technologies, and contributing to the health of Canadians.
By leveraging the assets owned by AECL, CNL also serves as the nexus between government, the nuclear industry, the broader private sector and the academic community. CNL works in collaboration with these sectors to advance innovative Canadian products and services towards real-world use, including carbon-free energy, cancer treatments and other therapies, non-proliferation technologies and waste management solutions.
To learn more about CNL, please visit www.cnl.ca.
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CNL Contact:
Philip Kompass
Director, Corporate Communications
1-866-886-2325
media@cnl.ca