Firefighters heat up Hoover and compete for bragging rights in firefighter challenge

HOOVER, Ala. —

The Hoover Met was on fire Friday with thousands of firefighters from all over the country. They’re competing in challenges to show off their skills and take home the winning title in the 2023 Firefighter Challenge.

“I love that we get to come out and kind of show that passion through our dedication to training and going through all the motions of the course,” Wheeling firefighter Brittany Hoffman said.

And it’s not as easy as they make it look.

“You’ve got a lot of dedicated firefighters out here,” Lexington firefighter Nathan Oakley said. “We train on our off days to get ready for these events. It’s just a different mentality to come out here and do things that a lot of people don’t want to because it is challenging.”

Some said the firefighter challenge allows people to see the first responders in action, and it’s much harder than they imagined.

“Being married to a former firefighter,” Shari Walker said, “you stress about the work that they do and the line of work they do. But to see an event where they’re actually doing something and showing off their passion.”

Walker’s husband Quinntel worked at the Hoover Fire Department for 22 years.

“These are top-notch guys here,” Quinntel said. “I was not in this great shape to do this kind of this kind of challenge when I was a firefighter.”

And even though Quinntel retired from the department, he said the brotherhood is like family and supporting the guys is important.

“They work hard,” he said. “They work hard to come out here and do this challenge. This is something that they get up, eat, breathe and sleep this kind of stuff.”

The challenges don’t stop on Friday. Firefighters will be back out bright and early for the last day of the challenge.