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Q Handmade organic soaps Q Seasonal produce from local organic and sustainable farmers, including salad greens, kale, beets, green beans, garlic, mushrooms, herbs, sprouts and berries Q Artisanal cheese Q Artisanal Bread from Organic Flours bakery Q Honey, beeswax candles Q Sustainably-grown local cut flowers Q Music by the Moonshine in the Morning Crew and Hotel Phil Q Performance by the Scottish Country Dancers Q Vendors including A Perfect Gift, Val Koudelka, Ocean Pearl Jewellery, Kevin September, the Oakville Arts Council, Chloe Visual Arts & More Q Special Guest: Harbourside Organic Farmers Market Heritage Square (corner of Kerr and Florence) Saturday, August 6, 2011 w w w . k e r r v i l l a g e . c a w w w .in si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B E A V E R F ri d ay , A u g u st 5 , 2 01 1 1 0 By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakvilles firefighters kicked off their competitive season with a bang earlier this summer, winning multiple gold medals at the Western Ontario Regional Firefit Championships in Dorchester, Ontario. The event, which was held at the Thames Centre Sports and Rec Complex, drew a total to 22 teams, including nine Oakville fire- fighters, with participants required to rap- idly complete an intense obstacle course to secure victory. Oakville Fire Team Levitt-Safety #1s Shaun Henderson captured gold in the indi- vidual category while the team itself, which consisted of Henderson, Darren Van Zandbergen, Kurtis Mantell, Dave Walker and James Newton, received gold in the team and relay categories. Henderson and Van Zandbergen also won gold in the NXG2 Tandem category. The team was very successful, cleaning up and taking gold in every category entered, said Henderson. f h b bl ldFire ig ter com at team azes to go victory The team had a great first competition with a combination of excellent off season training and teamwork feeding off one anoth- er. We have extremely high hopes this season. All competitors have individual goals, but as a whole our team goal is to place top three at the national championships in Medicine Hat in both the relay and team categories. At 14 members, Henderson said Oakville now has the largest competitive firefighter team in North America. This team has enjoyed considerable suc- cess in the past receiving bronze medals in the relay and NXG2 Tandem categories of the 2010 National Scott Firefit Championships, which were held in Brampton. The obstacle course competitors are striv- ing to complete in the least amount of time is more accurately described as a grueling endurance challenge. Clad in full firefighter gear and carrying a 50-pound, packed-up hose, the participant must first race up a five-storey tower. Once at the top of the tower, the partici- pant drops the hose being carried and then hoists up a second hose from the ground below. When this is complete the participant must race down the tower and complete the force machine process of the obstacle course. This involves hitting a 160-pound block with an eight-pound sledgehammer until the block has been driven a certain distance. It simulates breaking through a door or breaking through a roof with an axe, said Henderson in a previous interview. Youre doing this all on (oxygen), so at this point you are just completely fatigued. With the force machine complete, the participant then runs to a water-filled hose, which is dragged for eight feet before being used to extinguish a target. The participant then grabs a 185- pound rescue mannequin, which needs to be dragged about 100 feet backward. Henderson completed this course in one minute and 24.18 seconds to take home the gold. His closest rival, Louis Boiteau of the Hamilton Fire Department, completed the course in one minute and 25.94 seconds. The two-man team of Henderson and Van Zandbergen completed the course in one minute and 39.51 seconds to win the gold. Henderson said participating in these com- petitions benefits the fire department as the training involved in preparing for the obstacle course does not only make firefighters better at competitions, but better at their jobs. Running up flights of stairs in apartment buildings or breaking through doors or walls to get to a trapped citizen is not nearly as dif- ficult when firefighters go through this type of training, Henderson has said. Oakville Fire Team Levitt-Safety will next visit Ottawa for a competition that will take place on Aug. 6 and 7. The team is continuing to look for spon- sorship so it can participate in these events and get better training equipment, specifi- cally a training tower. Henderson said the Hamilton Fire Department has just purchased a training tower, leaving Oakville firefighters extremely envious. Anyone interested in being a sponsor can email oakvillecombatteam@hotmail.com.