U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Phillip Washburn, a Joint Task Force-Bravo 612th Air Base Squadron firefighter, begins the Scott Safety Firefighter Combat Challenge in Lexington, KY Aug. 10-11, 2013, with a hose drag. The competition seeks to encourage firefighter fitness and demonstrate the profession's rigors to the public. Wearing "full bunker gear" and the SCOTT Air-Pak breathing apparatus, pairs of competitors race head-to-head as they simulate the physical demands of real-life firefighting by performing a linked series of five tasks including climbing the 5-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175 lb. "victim" as they race against themselves, their opponent and the clock. (Photo courtesy from U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Phillip Washburn)