Orillia Fire burned the OPP.
It was all part of the friendly game of tug of war held at Couchiching Beach Park late Saturday afternoon to honour first responders during the 41st annual Scottish Festival.
“I thought it was awesome,” said Jessica Blemings, of Orillia, who was one of many cheering on the fire department as firefighters pulled and tugged.
“It was so much fun,” she added. “Now we know that firefighters are really the ones to save our houses from burning down.”
But this win is only leveling the record, said Ralph Dominelli, chief of the Orillia Fire Department.
“A couple of months ago we lost a truck-pulling competition to them at the OPP Headquarters,” he said.
Dominelli said by winning this friendly competition the fire department hopes to have represented well all the first responders in the area.
He said members of all three services, OPP, fire and EMS, strive to work as a group to protect the community.
“We look forward to challenging them again next year,” Dominelli added. “It was all for good fun and we are proud to serve the citizens of Orillia and visitors.”
The win solidified volunteer firefighter Shane Launchbury’s confidence in firefighters being better prepared for the competition.
“We’re more chill,” he joked, adding with a laugh that he ate some haggis and had an Orange Crush to prepare for the pull.
“It’s to show that we’re involved in the community, in other things than just our jobs,” said Launchbury, in explaining why it is important for first responders to be part of such events.
And that’s the spirit with which the OPP participants came in with, too.
“It brings the community together,” said Bridget Laurin, constable with the Orillia detachment, adding the pull was good fun regardless of the results. “There’s no animosity. We all work together, and that’s the bottom line.”
For the first turn, she was leader, egging on her team to the win. She joined in the action for the second tug, which was pulled out from under the OPP’s feet.
At one win each, the competition was poised on the edge of a knife.
Then Orillia firefighters dug in their heels and fired up their morale to give it their all for the final, winning pull.
OPP Constable Ted Dongelmans said he was a little disappointed by the loss and added, with a smile, that for next year, the OPP would have to spend some more time in the weight room.
“But it was great fun,” he said, wiping the sweat off his brow. “It was good to see the community out here cheering and supporting us, especially the younger ones.”
The competition was a revival of an ‘80s event that was part of the Scottish Festival at that time, said Carrie Dunn, co-chair of the festival.
“It was usually, from what I recall, the Orillia OPP and the City of Orillia,” she said, adding this year, the committee reached out to both Orillia OPP and Orillia Fire to request teams to be put in.
“It's just a demonstration of pride, maybe, between the two groups,” she said. “But it’s a friendly rivalry between the two groups, for sure, at least from our viewpoint.”
Another interesting Scottish Festival event she has seen photos of is a chariot race, said Dunn, noting that event involved a person pulling a passenger on a chariot.
“Who knows? Maybe in the next few years that could be another option we can bring back,” she said.
