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Milton fire fighters bring home the bronze

A team of Canadian fire fighters from the Milton Fire Department
recently beat out their U.S. counterparts during their first visit to
an annual ski challenge to raise funds for a charity in New York State.
The eighth  annual “Ski-Scape” was held in support of “Kids Escaping
Drugs” at the Holimont Ski Area in Ellicottville, N.Y. early in
January. The event pits teams of fire fighters against one another in a
team slalom course with a bit of a twist. The rules call for the teams
of four fire fighters wearing full bunker gear to compete side by side
against their opponents on the fast downhill course while jointed
together with a 50' length of firehose!

Teams from across the northern U.S. states have competed in this and
other similar events for the past several years. Milton fire fighter
Bill “Hoppy” Hopkins, a ski fanatic, learned of the event and quickly
raised interest amongst his fellow fire fighters to the point where
Milton crews fielded three teams in this year’s event, which serves as
one of the main fundraising events for an alcohol and drug
rehabilitation program for teenaged youth in upper New York State. This
year’s event raised over $27,000 for the Kids Escaping Drugs program.

 “Our guys – and gal – had a great time down there, and coming in third
at our first visit was a huge accomplishment, especially since some of
us displayed  a variety of, uh, unusual ski techniques,” said Hopkins.
The third place finishing team, dubbed “The Crazy Canucks,” consisted
of fire fighters Steve Brown, Bill Hopkins, Jim Spence and honorary
fire fighter Jeff Harper.  Fire fighter Greg Ollerenshaw won the
coveted “Most Spectacular Wipeout” award as voted on by his fellow
Milton fire fighters, and Deputy Chief Dave Krantz took home the award
for “Oldest Set of Skis” at the event.