The Prince Albert Fire Department hosted its annual trials today.
More than 60 applicants from around the city and the country came to Prince Albert for a chance to join the team.
The trials began in the morning with a written examination and a swimming test.
By 2 p.m. half of the applicants had already been disqualified.
Those who made it past the first two exercises faced a gauntlet of tasks.
While fully dressed in protective gear and wearing an oxygen tank, the remaining applicants had to complete five gruelling challenges.
First they had to haul 40 pounds of hose up and down two stories of stairs—twice.
Then, they had to pull 45 pounds of hose 80 feet to simulate hauling hose up into a window.
Next, they had to bash a block with a sledgehammer and move it about a foot, a feat that requires around 150 pounds per blow.
Not finished yet, they would have to pull 45 pounds of 4-inch hose another 80 feet.
And in a final test, the applicants had to drag a 170-pound dummy backwards 100 feet.
All that had to be completed in under four and a half minutes. Any longer and the applicant failed.
Should they make the cut, they have the opportunity for a further interview.
It’s expected that the department will take on two new firefighters.
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