Pole named Europe's best firefighter

Bereza, who serves at the fire department in Chełm, in Poland’s east, beat 170 other competitors to secure the title, onet.pl reported.

Five other Poles joined Bereza in the top ten on the leaderboard, according to onet.pl.

“Thanks to my preparation for the event I am a more agile firefighter and can bring help faster to people in need after an accident or in case of a fire,” Bereza said.

He compared the competition to fighting a fire on the third floor of a building.

“A firefighter is never alone, he has equipment, sometimes a hose with water or equipment to pry open a door. In the competition we carry 20 kilograms while wearing full respiratory protection mask, helmet, gloves ... and have to rescue an 80-kilogram person,” Bereza said.

With the victory under his belt, Bereza is now gearing up for world championships in the US in mid-October. (vb)

Source: onet.pl