Fitness comp puts focus on firey cause

A group of Karratha fitness lovers have put their strength to the test to help raise money for devastated fire-affected communities across Australia.

Seventy-two people attended The Fitness for the Firies Charity Bootcamp at Karratha Leisureplex on January 11, where $1850 was raised for the NSW Rural Fire Service and Brigades.

The evening saw members of the local community compete in a range of firefighting-themed exercises, including a relay where participants were decked out in a firefighter’s uniform.

Biceps also burned as the group rallied together to pull a fire truck using a rope and complete exercises using fire hoses as weights.

Karratha personal trainer Lissi Quince said she was originally from the Eastern States, where the fires were burning, and organised the event to help the place in which she grew up. “It just breaks my heart; the whole thing,” she said. “I just think the firefighters are working so hard over there and I thought that maybe we could be working hard, too, to help them out.

“We did a couple of firefighter workouts dedicated to the firefighters that lost their lives too.”

Ms Quince said the cause was close to her heart as she had family and friends who were evacuated during the fires but were lucky to have their houses and lives saved. “My goal was to get 50 people and I ended up getting a massive turnout,” she said.

Ms Quince said she would like to thank Dampier Fire Brigade for helping provide equipment for the fundraiser.