In 1985, the first World Police and Fire Games were established. According to the event website, these games bring police officers, firefighters and customs and correction officers from 70 countries together to compete in over 60 sporting events, including boxing, beach volleyball and tug-of-war. The WPFG were created to inspire a feeling of camaraderie between local and international first responders. This year's games were held in Fairfax County, Virginia, from June 26-July 5.
Two first responders from Florida competed in these games. Dustin Konkel, a lieutenant with the Boynton Beach Fire Department, and Jennifer Martin, a police sergeant, were both successful in their events. Konkel, a first-time competitor, took gold in the flag football competition. He and his teammates were undefeated. Martin had participated in the games three times before. She took home a medal for seven of the 10 swimming competitions in which she was entered. Three of those medals were gold.
Both first responders have athletic backgrounds and trained hard to set themselves apart from the 12,000 other competitors from around the world. Both Konkel, 32, and Martin, 34, hope to return for the 2017 games in Montreal, Canada.
First responders usually play for the same team, but on July 19, local firefighters, police officers and paramedics from Davenport, Illinois, and Rock Island, Illinois, faced one another in a Battle of the Badges baseball game. This is the second annual match, but the two towns have been competing against each other for four years. They made the decision last year to make the match official and have the proceeds from attendance go to charity.
Rock Island firefighter Blake Humphrey told KWQC, "We got the idea, the thought, if we're going to be [playing this game every year], let's do something good for the community."
The two towns plan to donate to a new organization every year. Last year, the teams sponsored the Ronald McDonald House and raised over $1,000 with their event. This year, they doubled that amount for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The teams exchange friendly trash talk and play their hardest to win, but in the end, it is all about the community. It is a chance for the paramedics, firefighters and police officers to give a little extra back to the charities in their towns.
Wisconsin Army veterans Natalie Koffarnus and Jenni Heisz have found a new way to inspire hope in combat veterans during their life after service. Heisz, who served in Kuwait and Afghanistan, and Koffarnus, who served in Kuwait and Iraq, use hiking as a means to stay fit both physically and mentally. The women stated that returning to nature was part of their healing process. It relaxed them and helped them transition back into civilian life.
"I find it kind of hard to be mad when you're out in nature, and the birds are singing, and the wind is blowing through the leaves. It really is calming and relaxing to me," Koffarnus told AOL.
The women are hiking the Ice Age Trail, a 1,100-mile trek across the state of Wisconsin, in partnership with the Warrior Hike program. This program sponsors returned combat veterans who wish to hike the National Scenic Trails as a way to transition from military life. As the ladies make their way across the trail, fellow veterans are providing food and lodging for the pair. Heisz and Koffarnus believe their journey will help them reconnect with nature and move past the traumas they experienced in their military service.
Deep in a heavily wooded section of Bullitt County, Kentucky, there is a 144-acre stretch of land that is about to make one veteran's dying wish come true. Retired Army Maj. Justin Fitch was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in 2013. When it was upgraded to stage 4 a year later, Fitch's doctors gave him only two to six months to live. Today, Fitch has outlived that prediction by over a year. Though he is very ill, Fitch is currently fighting to see those woods turned into the Active Heroes Retreat Center, a recovery destination for veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the PTSD Foundation of America, 1 in 3 returning servicemembers are diagnosed with PTSD. Fitch and the veterans who are helping him with his project wanted to create a space where their fellow combat veterans could come and recover. The idea was to build a retreat where ex-military members could develop a healthy outlook on life after service. However, Fitch and the other project leaders were worried that they would struggle to raise the $50,000 they needed to build just one cabin. With the help of sponsors and the project's GoFundMe campaign, Fitch and the others raised enough money to build two cabins.
The total expected cost to complete the retreat is about $4 million, but that does not intimidate Fitch. He is going to keep fighting to see his dream become a reality.
When Paul Hookham retired from the Delta Fire Department in 2012, he had served for 27 years. The 61-year-old was not only the department's fire captain, but he has also served as a mountain guide and an avalanche forecaster. Hookham's passion for first response work is only trumped by his love for songwriting. The former firefighter signed with Crucial Music and has written songs for big-name musicians.
However, when Hookham's son told him about the White Helmets, a Syrian civil defense group that rescues victims from bombed out areas, he used his talent for a cause. According to the White Helmets website, more than 50 bombs are dropped on Syrian neighborhoods each day. Many of these barrel bombs are filled with chlorine and nails. Hookham found out that these brave first responders enter areas to rescue civilians even as bombs are being dropped on their heads. Hookham penned a song called "A Far Cry," which he hopes will draw attention and support to the White Helmets' cause. He partnered with the drummer from Collective Soul as well as several other artists in order to make the song free. Hookham's goal was that his music would inspire people to sign the White Helmets' petition to ban barrel bombs and establish no-fly zones.
Many veterans struggle with what to do in life after service. Syracuse University, along with dozens of other universities across the country, is offering them a chance to find direction. In their week-long program called the Warrior Scholar Project, educators from the New York-based university hope to encourage veterans to pursue higher education. During the university's summer and winter breaks, veterans are invited to attend free courses and seminars designed to help them transition from military life and gear them up for college.
"We're trying to fill in that gap and provide our veterans with the skills that they need and the confidence they need to go forth and attend a top tier school," Sidney Ellington, an executive director for the Warrior Scholar Project, told CNY Central.
Many veterans are used to memorizing orders and acting upon command. Part of the Warrior Scholar Project is to teach them to think critically and analyze information. However, the project's website stated that the three main objectives are to help veterans transition from service to higher education, increase the graduation rates of veterans and train student-veterans to be leaders in the classroom.
Residents of Omaha, Nebraska, were treated to a special show on Friday afternoon when the Wings of Freedom Tour made a stop at Eppley Airfield to honor World War II veterans. The tour's purpose is to honor the soldiers that flew the aircraft and the other personnel who built and maintained the planes. In the 23 years that the tour has been in operation, it has visited nearly 3,000 airports across the country.
This year, the Wings of Freedom showcased refurbished WWII planes like the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator and the P-51 Mustang. These three models are some of the only planes of their kind still flying. Veterans of WWII were granted free admission to explore the planes and remember their time in the military.
"As a way to get the stories to come to life, we bring these airplanes in for the families and for the veterans to tell what they did during the war and to pass it along to future generations, "Brian Keough, a flight coordinator for the tour, told KETV,
Visitors to the Wings of Freedom tour are encouraged to explore the aircrafts, and if they can, participate in the flight experience. The Collings Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the tour, hopes that this will honor and preserve the legacy of WWII veterans.
As technology evolves, firefighting could become safer and more effective. The National Fire Protection Association reported that in 2013 there were 1,240,00 fires in the U.S., which caused about $11.5 billion in property damage. The implementation of drones and the increased movement towards an Internet of Things are just several ideas fire departments across the country have considered to increase their firefighting capabilities.
By combining current practices with the connectivity of the IoT, firefighters believe they could create smarter firefighting. Real-time information gathered by sensors deployed at the scene of a fire could allow firefighters to go into buildings prepared with the knowledge of how many people are inside and their locations. Drones are currently used to scout areas in a wildfire, but technological advancement have made it possible for the un-manned aircraft to be used indoors. The drones could be fixed with sensors and cameras to assess the danger of certain areas in a burning building. They could also collect chemical and smoke readings as well as report on the internal temperature.
The more situational awareness firefighters have before entering a fire, the safer they are. The increased knowledge also helps them fight the fires quicker and save lives with less risk to themselves.
From July 11 to 12, firefighters from across the country gathered in Bellevue, Washington, and pitted their skills against one another. The Bellevue competition is one of many Scott Safety Firefighter Combat Challenges across the U.S. During these events, fire departments compete for the best time in events like "rescuing" a 175-pound dummy, hoisting a 42-pound rope up a platform, and running up flights of stairs all while dressed in layers of heavy fire gear. It is a physically demanding competition that displays the skills of the nation's best fire departments and takes months of training to prepare. In fact, there is even a detailed training video on YouTube.
Dr. Paul Davis Scott, the coordinator for the Bellevue competition, told Q13 Fox, "What makes [the event] a game is to do it some insane amount of time and that's the challenge."
Dr. Davis introduced The Scott Safety Firefighter Challenge began in 1991, and participation has been improving ever since. Some Canadian and other international fire departments have joined in the challenge. The regional winners will advance to the 24th World Championships, which will be held in Montgomery, Alabama, this October.
T.J. Booms and the rest of the Meridian Township Fire Department are valuable assets to their community. However, the firefighter/paramedic wanted to do more. After receiving several calls to assist Neal Langford, a 52-year-old resident of East Lansing, Michigan, Booms found a project to give back to his community. Booms decided to build a new, more accessible garage for Langford. Swimming injuries Langford sustained at the age of 26 left him a quadriplegic. Langford's injuries require him to have a special van to get around, but the house in which he has lived for 19 years can't accommodate it.
Booms told the Lansing State Journal that Langford's van would frequently get stuck in the driveway during the winter, and he worried what would happen if Langford was stuck in the cold overnight. Booms and his captain got the idea to start a departmental initiative called the Meridian Fire Community Outreach Fund. Their first project was building a 24- by 30-foot garage that is large enough to accommodate Langford's van and keep it sheltered during poor weather. Booms' project brought the whole community together in the spirit of giving. Numerous local business helped the firefighters and paramedics complete the garage, and the township even waived the permit fees for the building. Booms plans to donate the leftover money from this project to fund future endeavors.