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6 April 2023
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'It's a lifestyle': Meet Cape Town's fittest fire fighter
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If he's not lifting weights, you'll find Cape Town's fittest fire fighter, Alno Kroon, swimming, running or cycling because he enjoys "basically every exercise there is". Kroon, who has a background in rugby, described his fitness regimen as a "lifestyle". He earned bragging rights for finishing the City of Cape Town's inaugural inter-departmental fitness challenge (a gruelling obstacle course) in the fastest time, while donning full operational gear, including fully charged breathing apparatus weighing an additional 23,6 kg.
Fire and rescue service members have long maintained an annual tradition of physical challenges, testing members' mettle while also ensuring that fitness levels meet the standard required for extreme operational tasks.
As part of a broader strategy to prioritise health, wellness and fitness within the safety and security directorate, Cape Town's fire fighters were joined by members of other departments for a physical assessment challenge on Friday, 24 March 2023.
Groups of the five fittest Metro Police, Law Enforcement, Traffic and VIP services staff members entered the Goodwood Fire Station arena to compete against the home team.
"We adopted, a few years ago, a fitness and well-being policy that puts emphasis on training, gyming and exercise as part of the daily routine and requires staff to exercise multiple times a week as part of their shift," the City of Cape Town's mayoral committee member for safety and security, Alderman JP Smith, said.
Alderman Smith added, “We're expanding that. We've gotten physical training instructors to support the staff. To get the ball rolling and get everyone excited about it, this is our first inter-departmental fitness challenge. This will become a regular thing, with prizes and awards. We're really trying to incentivise the staff to have fun and do it in a competitive space and, in the process, get fit and healthy.”
Competitors were required to complete six challenges on the course. This included stepping on and off a platform 30 times while carrying 20kg, dragging a tractor tyre for 27m and then pulling the remainder of the line a further 15m. Participants also had to extend an aluminium ladder, hoist a 35kg drum, carry two foam drums weighing 25kg each for 25m and use a 6kg sledgehammer to hit a tyre, simulating a forcible entry exercise.
Nervousness before and pain after were the hardest
It took 30-year-old Kroon just two minutes and 38 seconds to complete the course, setting the day's fastest time.
But he's no stranger to these types of physical competitions.
In the latest round of South Africa's Toughest Firefighter Alive (TFA) challenge held in Mossel Bay in September 2022, Kroon competed against the country's best, finishing fourth, missing out on a podium spot by a mere second. Kroon's physical prowess also saw him represent South Africa in Saudi Arabia at the Aramco TFA competition in November 2022, when he won gold in the personal protective equipment (PPE) dress challenge.
Kroon, who's been with Cape Town's fire and rescue service for 10 years and is stationed in Milnerton, finds time on quieter days to use the station's gym facilities. "We're very privileged to have training facilities at our stations, so we use them often… we try to use them on each shift, but it's not always possible, it depends on how busy it is. On my off days, also [I train] because it's a lifestyle [and] basically every exercise there is, I enjoy it," Kroon said.
"The hardest part [of the inter-departmental fitness challenge] was the nerves before the race started and the pain afterwards. That pain afterwards… it's something where you go into a different zone, where it's pain in your lungs [and] your whole body and [with an] elevated heart rate," he said.
Source: News 24
Fire and rescue service members have long maintained an annual tradition of physical challenges, testing members' mettle while also ensuring that fitness levels meet the standard required for extreme operational tasks.
As part of a broader strategy to prioritise health, wellness and fitness within the safety and security directorate, Cape Town's fire fighters were joined by members of other departments for a physical assessment challenge on Friday, 24 March 2023.
Groups of the five fittest Metro Police, Law Enforcement, Traffic and VIP services staff members entered the Goodwood Fire Station arena to compete against the home team.
"We adopted, a few years ago, a fitness and well-being policy that puts emphasis on training, gyming and exercise as part of the daily routine and requires staff to exercise multiple times a week as part of their shift," the City of Cape Town's mayoral committee member for safety and security, Alderman JP Smith, said.
Alderman Smith added, “We're expanding that. We've gotten physical training instructors to support the staff. To get the ball rolling and get everyone excited about it, this is our first inter-departmental fitness challenge. This will become a regular thing, with prizes and awards. We're really trying to incentivise the staff to have fun and do it in a competitive space and, in the process, get fit and healthy.”
Competitors were required to complete six challenges on the course. This included stepping on and off a platform 30 times while carrying 20kg, dragging a tractor tyre for 27m and then pulling the remainder of the line a further 15m. Participants also had to extend an aluminium ladder, hoist a 35kg drum, carry two foam drums weighing 25kg each for 25m and use a 6kg sledgehammer to hit a tyre, simulating a forcible entry exercise.
Nervousness before and pain after were the hardest
It took 30-year-old Kroon just two minutes and 38 seconds to complete the course, setting the day's fastest time.
But he's no stranger to these types of physical competitions.
In the latest round of South Africa's Toughest Firefighter Alive (TFA) challenge held in Mossel Bay in September 2022, Kroon competed against the country's best, finishing fourth, missing out on a podium spot by a mere second. Kroon's physical prowess also saw him represent South Africa in Saudi Arabia at the Aramco TFA competition in November 2022, when he won gold in the personal protective equipment (PPE) dress challenge.
Kroon, who's been with Cape Town's fire and rescue service for 10 years and is stationed in Milnerton, finds time on quieter days to use the station's gym facilities. "We're very privileged to have training facilities at our stations, so we use them often… we try to use them on each shift, but it's not always possible, it depends on how busy it is. On my off days, also [I train] because it's a lifestyle [and] basically every exercise there is, I enjoy it," Kroon said.
"The hardest part [of the inter-departmental fitness challenge] was the nerves before the race started and the pain afterwards. That pain afterwards… it's something where you go into a different zone, where it's pain in your lungs [and] your whole body and [with an] elevated heart rate," he said.
Source: News 24
