Te Puke firefighter Jodi Purdie competes on world stage

Te Puke firefighter Jodi Purdie in action at the World Firefighter Challenge at Stuart Beach in Florida. Photo / Jeffrey W Jones

Te Puke firefighter Jodi Purdie has been feeling the heat - or more accurately, the humidity - on the world championship stage.

Jodi recently returned home after competing in the World Firefighter Challenge at Stuart Beach in Florida.

She came home with a win in the female 40 plus tandem event, where she combined with Brazilian firefighter Luiza Fretas Velho. Jodi was sixth in the individual female 40 plus event and fourth in both the co-ed tandem 40 plus and open female relay.

The gruelling challenge starts with competitors carrying an 18kg hose up six flights of stairs.

They then pull another 18kg hose up to the top of the tower, before making their way back down and hitting a 70kg weight with a rubber hammer.

Next comes the slalom, around markers shaped like fire hydrants, to a charged fire hose. They must drag the hose through barn doors, shoot a target and finish by dragging an 81kg dummy 30 metres to the finish line. It’s all done in full gear, carrying a cylinder and wearing breathing apparatus.

While in the US she was initiated into the Lions Den in recognition of her achievements at national event the New Zealand UFBA Firefighter Challenge, where she beat the qualifying threshold for her age group. Her son Cooper, 14, performed a haka at the ceremony.

Getting to the worlds has taken years of dedicated training and competing in New Zealand - and she wants to do it all again, saying that with what she knows now, she believes she can do better.

The first four days of the world event were for qualifying runs. Jodi qualified in the co-ed tandem and female tandem events, but it came down to the last qualifying run to get through to the individual event.

“I knew I had to do real well to make it. I actually tripped over and still managed to do my best time while I was there, even better than the time I did the next day in the finals.”

She says being part of the New Zealand team, speaking on TVNZ’s Breakfast show the day before, and doing it for her country all helped motivate her to achieve qualification, but it hadn’t been easy.

Getting there had been her first long flight, she had struggled with sleeping and the humidity was also draining.

“There was no real opportunity for me to adjust to everything,” she says. “There were so many little factors, but I’m pleased that by that fourth seeding day I got my head game a little bit better.”

In the finals, all previous times were scrubbed.

“I was feeling confident after making the finals that I could do well.”

However, after waiting around in full gear in the heat beforehand and then knocking her BA mask during her final run, she finished sixth of the eight finalists.

“That’s why this year was quite good for getting the experience - next year I hope to go with more knowledge.”

Winning the tandem women’s 40 plus event was a surprise, but she now thinks she is capable of chasing a world record in that event.

“For our tandem final, we were up against the other over-40 females. They were very chiselled, dedicated athletes.”

Jodi had only met her partner at the event.

“We had a language barrier, we didn’t practise once together.

“One thing with this is smooth is fast and we we just maintained our smoothness.”

Cooper Purdie made quite an impression supporting his mum at the World Firefighter Challenge. Photo / Sha Jackman

Cooper has been a big supporter of his mum, but found himself the centre of attention.

“We arrived and they were short of volunteers,” says Jodi.

“I said ‘if you need some help, Cooper’s got nothing to do’. He did six 12-hour days. He took it very seriously and so we thought we’d better nurture this.”

At the prizegiving, he was rewarded with a gold medal.

“The organisers were so grateful and they just loved his attitude. It was neat they showed him the appreciation they did at the award ceremony and I think that kind of recognition is only going to make him want to do it more in life. I hope so because it was pretty special to watch.”

Jodi says a huge motivation for taking part in the competitions is to make her a better firefighter.

“It’s the best tool I’ve got to maintain the level of fitness I want to be able to serve the community.”

She has travelled to and trained with firefighters in Te Awamutu and Auckland to prepare for the competition, but says she would love to set up a track or some sort of training in Te Puke for local firefighters.

“This is so much more than a sport. It’s bringing people and their families together from around the world to connect in so many more ways and on so many levels.”

Without sponsorship, Jodi would not have been able to make the trip to the US.

Fire Risk Safety New Zealand sponsored uniforms for the New Zealand team and Styx Mill New Zealand provided her level 2 kit.

Online Contractors also helped with uniforms and with Jodi’s travel for training.

Noel Walmsley painted her Silver Fern firefighter’s helmet.

Jodi has now started preparing for the next world event in 2024.

“There are so many things I will do differently.”