Burning desire to win inspires firefighters in bucket brigade, tug of war
McCLELLANDTOWN – Mike “Ham” Kelecic, a volunteer firefighter in Edenborn for the past 31 years and a third-generation coal miner, doesn’t have a burning desire to compete. But each year he looks forward to the intense competition and entertainment offered during the annual convention of the Fayette County Firemen’s Association. The 65th annual convention will take place Sunday through Saturday, July 13-19, at the McClellandtown Volunteer Fire Department’s fairgrounds.
Kelecic said the event, which will be hosted by German Township firefighters from Adah, Edenborn, Footedale, McClellandtown and Ronco fire departments, will be packed with food, games, music and entertainment for all ages.
Each evening from Monday through Friday, Kelecic said firefighters from various departments in Fayette County will turn up the heat as they compete against each other in contests such as the battle of the barrel, hose laying, bucket brigade, tug of war, fire engine pull and the gear and mask scramble.
A DJ or a live band will also entertain. The competition and entertainment will begin at 6:30 p.m. daily. In addition to the nightly events and competitions, a firemen’s fair with food, games and refreshments will be held. The kitchen opens at 5 p.m. each day.
Kelecic said the convention offers firefighters a great place to kick back and have a blast this summer because they enjoy “the camaraderie, entertainment and a little friendly competition.”
“The competition can get heated sometimes,” he laughs.
On Monday, two teams will go head to head in the battle of the barrel competition.
“It is like a tug of war,” Kelecic said. He explained that an eight-gallon barrel hangs from a steel cable overhead and the object of the game is to “spray the barrel to the end point and knock your opponent back.”
The hose laying competition, where teams will use either a “mini pumper” or “heavy pumper” fire truck will take place Tuesday. The competition begins with empty tanks, and the goal is to knock a beach ball off the top of a drum with hose water from about 50 feet away.
Kelecic explained that there are two different kinds of bucket brigade competitions, which will occur on Wednesday.
In the elevated platform bucket brigade, Kelecic said water is thrown from buckets onto the roof of a building with gutters. The water trickles down the gutters into a barrel. The first team to fill its barrel wins.
In the scaffolding bucket brigade, a bucket is filled with water, carried 50 yards, handed up a scaffold and finally dumped into a barrel. Again, the first team to fill the barrel wins.
The tug of war and fire engine pull are Thursday’s competitions. Teams of firefighters weigh in before these events with a maximum total team weight of 1,000 pounds. Kelecic said this usually amounts to five to seven firefighters who “pull the fire truck like a team of mules.”
One of the most amusing competitions is the gear and mask scramble, the final event held on Friday. Kelecic said firefighters from each team start out in their street clothes and then run 50 yards to a pile of “pants, boots, gloves, hats and a self-contained breathing apparatus.”
The firefighters must put their gear on as quickly as possible, which Kelecic said will result in a lot of scrambling and laughing.
The fair provides an excellent opportunity to play games or grab a bite to eat before the competitions start, according to Kelecic. Along with normal fair food like hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and snow cones, each night features a specialty sandwich, like kielbasa or Italian sausage.
Kelecic said the French fries offered at the fair can’t be beat. “They are fantastic,” he said. “They use Idaho potatoes and make them from scratch.”
On Saturday, the last day of the convention, the kitchen opens early at 3 p.m. A hog roast will be featured, as well as the fair. The annual firemen’s convention parade will take place at 4:30 p.m. The Povertyneck Hillbillies will perform at 7 p.m.
Along with hosting an event for the community, the Fayette County Firemen’s Association also takes the time to honor all past deceased members at a memorial service.
The 81st annual memorial service will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday at McClellandtown Presbyterian Church. This event is not open to the public but is reserved for invited individuals and all family members of the deceased.
Also a private affair set aside for the firefighters, a banquet will be held Sunday to honor the association’s past presidents.
The German Township firefighters, which includes companies from Adah, Edenborn, Footedale, McClellandtown and Ronco, formed an association five years ago. Kelecic said the association meets quarterly to discuss its financial situation. The departments need to raise money for fire school, in-house training, bomb awareness classes, external defibrillator training and new equipment.
“It is tough to make a dollar in small departments,” said Kelecic, who explained that firefighters raise money through events like the second annual Firefighter’s Day, which was held on June 8. Kelecic said the fire department holds events that “give people from German Township something to do.”
Although Kelecic estimated that firefighters spend about 75 to 80 percent of their time raising money, he said what he likes the most about being a firefighter is helping people.
Kelecic doesn’t complain about the frequent middle of the night calls to go fight fires.
“I know I have to go,” he said. “The public is waiting for help.”
During the past three decades he has spent as a firefighter, Kelecic said the most valuable lesson he has learned is to “be very cautious.”
“You don’t know what to expect because every situation is unique,” he said. “Safety is the number one priority.”
Kelecic and his fellow firefighters must practice what he preaches because no one has been seriously injured or killed fighting fires in German Township. During his firefighting career, Kelecic said he suffered “a couple of burns, stepped on a nail and had some slips and falls,” but he has not suffered any serious injuries.
His family has been very supportive throughout Kelecic’s time as a firefighter.
His wife, Mary Jo, is the president of the Ebenborn Ladies’ Auxiliary.
“The ladies auxiliary is an integral part of all fire departments,” he said.
His oldest son, Jason, who is currently a physical therapist in Minneapolis, joined his dad as a firefighter until he went off to college. Kelecic has two other children. His youngest son, Ken, attends law school at the University of Kentucky and his daughter, Becky, is a senior at Geibel Catholic High School in Connellsville.
“Recruitment is a problem,” he said, explaining that fire departments don’t have much manpower because people like his son aren’t staying in the area.