Fort Oglethorpe Explorers Compete at Winterfest GATLINBURG, TN – On January 27, 2007, Explorers from Fire Departments, EMS Departments and Police Departments gathered in Gatlinburg, Tennessee for Winterfest.  Each type of Explorer Post had different types of competitions.   76 teams from Fire Departments all over the southeastern United States competed in several different events over the course of the day.  The Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia Fire and Rescue Department, which has 11 Explorers, entered 2 different 5 person teams in each event. The first competition was rapid dress.  Explorers were required to remain seated and not touching their gear until given the command to do so.  They were then required to don a nomex hood, boots, bunker pants and coat, helmet, gloves and an SCBA as quickly as possible.  Special attention was paid to proper buckling of all snaps and making sure zippers were all the way up.  Additionally, all Velcro parts of the gear such as the neck strap were required to be fastened.  For any violations of the proper wearing of the gear, seconds were added to their times as a penalty. The second event was known as the combat challenge.  The first member of the team carried two hose rolls a specific distance and then placed them onto a marked spot.  After being touched by the first member, the second picked up the hose rolls and walked across a balance beam paying particular attention to touching a yellow spot on both ends of the beam.  He or she then placed the hose rolls into a marked area, touched the third member of the team who walked to a ladder, picked it up and made their way through a serpentine course and back without touching the cones or the floor with the ladder.  After finishing, this Explorer then touched a fourth member who grabbed a sledge hammer and moved a tire forward crossing the line with it.  That contestant then touched the fifth and final member of the team who moved a dummy from one spot to another.   All of these feats were to be done as quickly as possible however no running was allowed. The Explorers then moved on to the ladder relay where each member of the team was required to carry a ladder to a particular spot and back passing it to the next member.  Once each member completed this task all five carried an extension ladder to the other end of the course and raised it ensuring that they called out things like checking for overhead obstructions.  Once raised the ladder had to be secured using a piece of rope tied with a clove hitch knot. The Fort Oglethorpe Explorers then quickly assembled a three person team for the mystery event.  These three explorers were taken into a large room where they geared up and then were given blacked out masks.   The idea of the event was for the three to use proper communication and never lose contact while following a hose line to exit a building.  Once they began following the line, it quickly ended in a t shape and the Explorers were required to use the couplings to figure out the correct way to follow the hose out.   After a break for food and time to explore Gatlinburg, all of the Explorer teams and advisors gathered in the Convention Center for the presentation of awards and a talent show.  The young men and women from Fort Oglethorpe did a wonderful job representing themselves and their department.  Of the 11 members of the squad, only three have been with the department more than a year and many only for a few months.  All of the teams finished in the top 20 of each event.