OSU-OKC hosts national championship for Firefighter Challenge Championship Series

OSU-OKC hosts national championship for Firefighter Challenge Championship Series

Monday, September 29, 2025

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Oklahoma State University's campus in Oklahoma City hosted the 2025 United States National Championship in the TFT Firefighter Challenge Championship Series this week, bringing top firefighters from across the country and abroad to campus.

The competition simulates real life saving tasks such as climbing stairs, hauling hoses and rescuing victims. It has become a showcase of both athleticism and camaraderie in the fire service.

This year, 31 states were recognized in the competition, with 197 athletes competing.

Lt. James Herman, a six-year OSU Fire Science Instructor and Oklahoma City Fire Department member, said hosting the championship underscores the strength of OSU-OKC's fire program.

"This is our second time to host this event, the first one being a regional event. This kind of puts us on the map," Herman said. "The first time was a dream of our director, Joe Bennett, and being able to fulfill that dream was amazing. And then being asked to host the Nationals, outside of hosting a regional event, puts us on the map even more."

Herman said competition comes naturally to firefighters.

"Firefighters make competition out of everything. The competition, the camaraderie, is huge for us," Herman said. "We're a family first organization. At the end of the day, it may be a competition, it may be heated, but they're going to slap high fives and take their families out to dinner together afterwards. It really drives home the family side."

Joe Bennett, director of OSU-OKC's Fire Science Program, said the event also connects OSU Fire Science students with the wider fire service community.

"It's a worldwide recognized event, and this is the national championship in our backyard," Bennett said. "We'll have competitors from across the United States and internationally."

Some students even got to compete.

"Last year we had a student team place in several events, so obviously they were excited," Bennett said. "It's international. You could go anywhere as a firefighter, and if you say what you do, they start showing you the station and feeding you the local food. It's just one giant family, and it ushers our students into that family."

For competitors, the event is both fitness and fun.

Christopher Brinkley of Akron, Ohio, called it "a fun hobby. Relates to our job and it's a good sport."

His teammate, Nate Keen of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, said he enjoys the team side.

"Just have fun. It's a great fitness event. It shows, 'Hey, it's a good thing to be active and it's what we do for a living,'" Keen said. "I'm enjoying the tandem and the relays. Those are, for me, the most fun."

For OSU-OKC, Herman said the benefits go beyond competition.

"It really showcases that the community is on board with us and what we want to give back to the firefighter community as a whole," Herman said. "For our students especially, it motivates them. They see this side of the fire service and of giving back, and it elevates them to go on and make a career out of this."

Results can be found on the Firefighter Challenge website.