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Photo courtesy of Dextor Harris
Vestavia Hills firefighters Ana Ruzevic and Dextor Harris at the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championships at Hoover 2024 Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. Ruzevic placed on two national championship teams and was second individually among women under age 40.
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Photo courtesy of Ana Ruzevic
Vestavia Hills firefighter Ana Ruzevic, left, and Lexington, Kentucky, firefighter Sarah McGill won the 2024 tandem national championship for women under 40 at the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championships at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
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Photo courtesy of Ana Ruzevic
Vestavia Hills firefighter Ana Ruzevic, left, was on the 2024 national championship women's relay team at the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championships at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, in September.
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Photo courtesy of Dextor Harris
Vestavia Hills firefighter Dextor Harris carries a dummy during the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championships at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, in September 2024.
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Photo courtesy of Dextor Harris
Vestavia Hills firefighter Dextor Harris pulls a hoseline during the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championships at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, in September 2024.
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Photo courtesy of Dextor Harris
Vestavia Hills firefighters Ana Ruzevic and Dextor Harris are headed to compete in the Firefighter Challenge World Championship in Nashville on Oct. 21-26, 2024.
Two Vestavia Hills firefighters are headed to the Firefighter Challenge World Championship in Nashville in two weeks after advancing from the national competition in Hoover at the end of September.
Ana Ruzevic, a Vestavia Hills fire medic, was on two national championship teams at the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championship at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and placed second individually among females under age 40 in the national competition.
The Firefighter Challenge, labeled by firefighters as the “toughest two minutes in sports,” is an event in which firefighters compete against each other by simulating the physical demands of real-life firefighting as they race against the clock. Competitors wear full gear and self-contained breathing apparatuses and perform tasks such as carrying a high-rise pack upstairs, advancing a charged hoseline and dragging a 175-pound mannequin for 100 feet.
Ruzevic joined with Sarah McGill of the Lexington Fire Department in Kentucky to win a national championship in the tandem (two-person) competition, finishing with a time of 1 minute, 54 seconds. The pair now advance to the world competition, where last year they finished the course in 1:47, just three seconds shy of the world record, she said.
Photo courtesy of Ana Ruzevic
Vestavia Hills firefighter Ana Ruzevic, left, and Lexington, Kentucky, firefighter Sarah McGill won the 2024 tandem national championship for women under 40 at the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championships at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
Ruzevic also was one of five women on a team that won a national championship in the relay competition this year. Her teammates were from Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas, and they, too, will compete in the world competition in two weeks.
In the individual competition, Ruzevic, who is 35, finished second among females under age 40 with a time of 2:34. The first-place female was McGill with a time of 2:16. There were 26 women who qualified for nationals in the under age 40 division.
The other Vestavia Hills firefighter headed to the world competition is Dextor Harris. Harris, who is 33, said he will be competing in the world individual competition and maybe a tandem competition. At the national competition, Harris placed 17th out of 30 men in the second division of men under age 40, with a time of 2:08.
Photo courtesy of Dextor Harris
Vestavia Hills firefighter Dextor Harris carries a dummy during the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championships at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, in September 2024.
Ruzevic said it was really awesome to have a lot of friends and family come out to support her and Harris at the national competition in Hoover a little over a week ago, and she enjoyed watching other fellow Vestavia Hills firefighters compete in the Alabama Fire Service Showdown held in Hoover the day before the national competition.
Now, she and Harris will be busy training hard for the world competition, which is Oct. 21-26 at The Fairgrounds Nashville speedway infield. Ruzevic said she hopes to set a personal record at the world competition.
