Riverview volunteer firefighter, Jared Hartley might want to up his game as he trains for the World Firefighter Combat Challenge, as his two-year-old son, Briar may soon put him to shame.
“He is probably the hardest working guy on the team. He doesn’t miss a training night,” Jared told Global News.
Briar has been following his dad around the combat training circuit since he took his first steps.
“He’s just picked it up and started following us around and started training at home with spoons and running around with dummies.”
Instead of carrying a 200 pound dummy though, Briar hauls around and “rescues” a stuffed tiger named “Randy.”
Teammate Nathan Orr says Briar runs the entire combat challenge routine like a pro.
“He’s got ‘er down and he’s teaching us a few moves too,” Orr said.
Orr and Jared are both gold medal winners on Riverview’s Firefighter Combat Challenge Team.
While other toddlers may be watching cartoons, Briar wakes up every morning to study combat challenge videos.
Judging from how well he runs the circuit, he’s likely to follow in his dad’s footsteps. Jared has been a volunteer firefighter for more than eight years.
Jared hopes seeing little Briar run the course may brighten the days of friends of his who have been affected by the Fort McMurray wildfire.
“I have some friends who are working with the Fort McMurry fire department and some friends working in the oil sands as well and they are working hard — it is pretty devastating what is going on,” Jared said.
He also says he hopes Briar will grow up to be a real firefighter some day.
“I hope so, I think he will he’s got it in him you can see it,” Jared said.