Brentwood Fire and Rescue’s first group to complete the BFR Station Hike
If you noticed a group of men in orange shirts walking down some of Brentwood’s roads Wednesday, you witnessed the first group from Brentwood Fire and Rescue to complete the “BFR Station Hike.” The Brentwood Fire and Rescue Station Hike consists of an approximately 38 kilometer (23.6 mile) trip that takes participants to each of the city’s four fire stations. The event was created by the city’s physician, Dr Robert Belihar.
Participants met at Fire Station 1 on Maryland Way at 6am and began their first 4.2 mile leg towards Station 2 on Wilson Pike. After a brief break, the crew took off on the shortest part of their trip consisting of a 3.8 mile walk to Station 4 on Sunset Rd. After another brief stop, firefighters continued on their next 7.4 mile leg towards Station 3 on General George Patten Dr. The final leg of their journey consisted of a 7.3 mile hike north on Franklin Rd. All in all, the firefighters hiked for 7 hours and 39 minutes including resting and visiting with on-duty crews at each station.
All participants were accustomed to working hard and supporting each other, and it certainly came into play on this trip. Despite the sore muscles and blisters, everyone that started thankfully finished the hike, and more importantly they finished it together. It was a challenging endeavor, and everyone who participated agreed that they would not have made it alone. In the end, firefighters relied on their teammates to keep them going.
This hike was included in Brentwood Fire and Rescue’s new FIRE initiative. FIRE is an acronym standing for Firefighters Inspiring Regular Exercise. Members of the department are encouraged to participate in events such as hikes, marathons, triathlons and bicycle races. Each participant in the program is given an orange jersey to start with. You may have recently noticed some of these orange jerseys at one of your local YMCAs during a training session. A points system is in place, with different colored jerseys being awarded to participants reaching certain point values. At the completion of the hike, 2 of the members of this group became the first in the department to reach the second tier of jersey color.
It was a long day, but one that many firefighters will not forget for some time. If you see a pack of orange jerseys walking down the road in the coming weeks be sure to smile and wave. Your firefighters are working hard to be physically ready when you need them!
