On a sunny Saturday in Athens, area fire departments convened for the first time in two years for the 110th Eastern Ontario Firefighter Games.

The full day of competition and fellowship saw nine departments from around Eastern Ontario compete in various races and timed events related to firefighting in the Centre ’76 parking lot.

In the end, the Mountain Fire Department from North Dundas took home top honours, with the Prescott Fire Department securing second place.

Mountain Fire Chief Ray Sherrer said it was a “great” feeling finishing first overall, adding it was the second time the department has taken home the top prize.

Saturday was the first time in three years that the competition had occurred, due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sherrer said being back together with so many different departments was a wonderful feeling.

“There’s not just the competitive side, but also the camaraderie visiting with your neighbouring departments,” said Sherrer, who has been chief for six years and served in the fire service for 26 years.

Along with Mountain, Prescott and host Athens, the other departments that competed were Iroquois, Edwardsburgh-Cardinal, Augusta, Merrickville and two other North Dundas units out of Winchester and Chesterville.

Tracy Day, the fire administrator with Prescott, said the department was thrilled to participate in the return to the games. Day said the thrill was elevated as a “fair number” of their members were new and participating in the games for the first time.

“It was a wonderful day for every department that attended; it was a very good showing,” said Day.

“The second place was a fabulous finish.”

The departments competed in 11 different events throughout the day, with a chiefs’ race breaking up the dry events in the morning and wet events in the afternoon.

Morning competitions focused on hose coupling, ladder climbing and a bunker gear relay race. The afternoon saw water get involved as teams raced the clock in various events to hook up hoses and hit targets before water could burst out at one of the hastily fastened connections.

Mountain was able to secure victory in four events, with Prescott finishing first in three. Every team was able to secure at least one top-five finish to get points on the board throughout the day.

Following the final event, the members got a dinner break before conducting a parade around Athens. Multiple departments brought out a vintage fire truck for the local crowd to gawk at along Elgin, Main and Henry Street.

Both Sherrer and Day commended the Athens Fire Department and village for hosting the games after a layoff for everyone.

“They had a great showing in Athens with everyone showing up between the departments, the families and the public,” said Day.

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4

© 2022 The Community Press, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.