The Tecumseh Fire and Rescue Services Combat Challenge team hosted on Saturday, June 3, the Tecumseh F7 Festival, a family-friendly event where local firefighters and firefighter students went head-to-head in their very own Firefighter Combat Challenge.
Made possible thanks to many generous sponsors from the community, including Classic Fire + Life Safety, the event was an opportunity for many individuals to participate in a simulation of the Firefighter Combat Challenge. Taken on by firefighters around the world, the Firefighter Combat Challenge is a course comprised of multiple firefighting tasks and deemed by many as the most intense six minutes in sports.
One firefighter who tried the difficult challenge for the first time at the festival is Classic Fire + Life Safety’s very own Rob Kolodziejski, Fire Alarm Service Manager in Windsor. Rob joined the company back in 2015 as a fire alarm technician.
“I was extremely motivated by the idea of helping the community and protecting people,” Rob explains. “I had taken some courses in college that had piqued my interest and I knew this would be a rewarding path for me.”
For almost eight years, Rob has worked to provide his customers with a safe space to live, work, and play through fire protection services — ultimately to protect people. Last year, he was promoted to a management position, giving him more opportunities to oversee day-to-day operations and support a team of technicians with training sessions and inspections.
Even more recently, Rob also joined the local Tecumseh Fire Department and accomplished his goal of becoming a firefighter, something he had been working towards for many years. Now, in addition to his work as a Fire Alarm Service Manager, he can be paged whenever he is needed to answer a fire call.
“On the day of the festival, my team and I answered a house fire call early in the morning,” Rob says. “When
I got back home, I only had an hour to rest before the Firefighter Combat Challenge I had signed up for.”
Rob had heard of the physically demanding challenge, as many firefighters do, but had never tried it for himself. “Some friends reached out to me and invited me to participate,” he explains. “I didn’t have much to lose to try it.”
Rob participated in the tandem challenge along with a student firefighter and completed it in an impressive amount of time for a first timer.
“The challenge most definitely planted a seed in my mind,” he shared. “Eventually, I think I would join a team and compete at a higher level. Perhaps even join the Tecumseh team, if they’ll have me.”
Overall, the one-day festival was an immense success, according to Rob, with many families, children, and student firefighters coming together to celebrate the profession with the community.
“I couldn’t be prouder that Classic Fire + Life Safety was a part of making this great celebration happen,” he adds. “The Tecumseh team organized an event where the community came together, and firefighters rallied to have a wonderful time.”
Classic Fire + Life Safety opened its Windsor branch back in 2001, under the company’s original name Forest City Fire Protection Ltd. Over the years, this branch has become the market leader in fire protection products and services for commercial businesses in the Windsor and area marketplace.
