Twelve Asheville Fire Department employees will compete in the Blue Ridge Relay this weekend. This marks the sixth year that a team of firefighters from AFD have completed the 208 mile course. Typically finishing in about 26 hours; each athlete will run an average of 17 miles. The team will be competing with 175 other teams from across the east coast.
The Asheville Fire Department team includes:
- Captain Steve Wickham
- Captain Rich Rauschenbach
- Engineer Chris Holroyd
- Senior Firefighter Paul Walker
- Senior Firefighter Anthony Glass
- Senior Firefighter Jason Gunn
- Senior Firefighter Luke Miller
- Senior Firefighter Westin Hall
- Firefighter Robert Birchfield
- Firefighter James Repasky
- Firefighter Bryan Wilson
- Firefighter Jonathan Woody
This great team building exercise contributes to the health and wellness of the department. Yearly studies from the National Fire Protection Agency conclude that cardiac arrest is the leading cause of firefighter deaths. Not only is fitness important to their job, it can boost life expectancy; an important statistic in a career that has notoriety for heart attacks.
All fire employees are required to do a minimum of 1 hour of physical training every shift, but these firefighters can attest that most do much more.
For more information, contact Captain Rich Rauschenbach at 828-974-6156.