I Put On Full Turnout Gear for the First Time. Here’s What Happened.

I Put On Full Turnout Gear for the First Time. Here’s What Happened.

Last year, I did the Port Clinton Fire Department’s firefighter agility test for the first time.

I’d never rolled a 5-inch hose before. Never crawled through confined space. Never hoisted a hose up to a second story. I wore a 30-pound vest, a helmet, and gloves that didn’t even fit right.I finished second or third with a time around 8 minutes. I honestly don’t remember which place it was.

If I didn’t win, the details don’t stick — that’s just how I’m wired. Move on. Do better.

This Year, They Asked Me to Do It in Gear

When the opportunity came around again in 2026, I said yes. A few of the guys on shift joked that I should run it in full turnout gear. Chief Gutman asked if I was up for it — and I told him I’d do it whatever way was most useful to him. If wearing gear gave him a legitimate comparison point between a non-firefighter and the crew, then that’s what we’d do.
‍

The gear I wore was borrowed from a part-time firefighter: boots, pants, hood, helmet, jacket, mask, gloves, and an oxygen tank.It was the first time I’d ever put on turnout gear. The first time I’d ever been on air.The CourseBefore the clock even starts, you climb the ladder truck. It’s not timed — it’s a confidence exercise.

I hate heights. This was only my second time making it to the top, and I was noticeably less shaken than the first. Progress.

Then the clock starts.

Here’s what the course looks like, in order:

1. 24-foot extension ladder raise and lower

2. 100-foot farmer’s carry with 45-pound dumbbells

3. Confined space crawl — I’m claustrophobic, and this was the first time I’d done it with a pack on my back

4. Hose roll and unroll — both a 1¾-inch and a 5-inch hose

5. 100-foot hose drag — hose filled to 50% with water

6. 20 sledgehammer strikes

7. Flight of stairs, then 2 hose hoists

8. 3 trips up and down the stairs carrying a hose roll on your shoulder or air pack

9. Dummy drag — 25 feet out, 25 feet back

My time: 9:52.Here’s what makes that number even more interesting.

The full-time firefighters who ran the course last year in a vest saw their times increase by an average of about 4 minutes when they switched to full gear and air this year.

My time only increased by under 2 minutes — less than half their drop-off. They’re trained for this. The gear is part of their job. And I adapted to it faster than they did.

The Context That Makes That Number Mean Something

I work a desk job. No manual labor. No fire-related training. I don’t practice hose rolls, ladder raises, or any of the specific skills on that course outside of showing up at the fire station.Nearly 30 seconds faster than the full-time firefighters who had been training on that exact course all week.

This is their job. I showed up once and set the standard.

What I Actually Did to Prepare

Nothing special. No firefighter-specific program. No extra conditioning work on the side. I trained in a CrossFit class four times a week for the past year. No specific goal. I just wanted to get fitter. That’s it. And that’s exactly the point. The fitness we build inside CrossFit Port Clinton isn’t designed for one sport or one event. It’s broad, it’s varied, and it transfers.

It prepares you to pick up something heavy you’ve never picked up before, crawl through something tight you’ve never crawled through before, and keep moving when your brain is telling you to stop — because you’ve practiced that exact feeling, over and over again, in the gym.

Our classes, personal training, and nutrition program don’t just make you look better.

They prepare you for your job.

They prepare you for life.

They prepare you for the moments that matter — the ones you didn’t see coming.

We do hard things every day at CFPC.

It’s probably time you started too.

Book your free No Sweat Intro today → www.crossfitportclinton.com