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News
Thomas among top ten at nationals
BY JOE DIPIETRO, STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 11:59 AM CDT
News Observer photo/Joe DiPietro
Fannin County High School Skills USA club member Josh Thomas recently placed ninth in the firefighting event at the national Skills USA competition in Kansas City, Mo. Here, Thomas, center, is shown with his parents Fannin County Fire Chief Larry Thomas and firefighter Beth Thomas. Thomas took the 9th place finish from a field of about 25 competitors from around the country. He has also been elected to serve as the Fannin Skills USA Club president for the upcoming school year.
Fannin County High School rising junior Josh Thomas recently placed ninth in the firefighting event at the national Skills USA competition in Kansas City, Mo. Here, Thomas, right, is shown with a judge as he starts a two-minute equipment carry in the physical agility portion of the event.
Skills USA member Josh Thomas recently placed ninth in the nation in the firefighting competition at the national Skills USA Club competition in Kansas City, Mo.
Thomas took the ninth place national finish from a field of about 25 other competitors from around the United States.
The competition was extremely close, with only 14 points separating Thomas from the national champion, Skills USA Advisor Patricia DuBois said. “At nationals, there’s a very strong competitive force,” she said. “The students who make it there are strong and knowledgeable.”
Thomas, who will begin his junior year of high school in August, was the only Fannin student to qualify for the national competition, after he won first place in the firefighting event at the Georgia Skills USA competition in Atlanta in May.
Thomas was also awarded a skill point certificate at the national competition for showing excellence and proficiency in the firefighting event.
In the national competition, Thomas said he had to take a 50-question written test and go through a physical agility test.
For the duration of the physical agility test, Thomas said he had to wear a 50-pound vest to simulate the turnout gear and air pack worn by firefighters. He also had to communicate with a judge in the same fashion that a firefighter would use a radio. “We had to say everything we were doing like we were talking on a radio,” he said.
The physical agility portion included activities such as speed dressing, a two-minute equipment carry on a stairmaster, a 200-foot hose advance and going through a dark, 100-foot tunnel filled with obstacles to simulate a firefighter in a dark, confined environment.
Other activities in the physical agility test included a ceiling breach and pull using a pike pole, a simulation of breaking through a wall with an eight-pound sledge hammer, a 165-pound manikin carry and a ladder race.
Thomas said the written portion of the exam was the toughest part of the competition. “It was pretty rough,” he said. “It was a multiple-choice test that covered everything from basic firefighting skills to how heat moves.”
Thomas said the material on the written test came from multiple firefighting training books.
Getting to know other young firefighters was one of the best parts of competing, Thomas said. “It was neat to meet people from other fire departments and see how they do things,” he said. “Like for us, the explorers wear blue helmets. But someone came up to me at the competition and asked me if I was a lieutenant, because for them the lieutenants wear blue helmets.”
Thomas has been involved in the Fannin County Fire Explorer Post 401 for several years and was recently elected to serve as the president of the Fannin Skills USA Club over the next school year.
Thomas said he is thankful to DuBois, Fannin County Fire Department Training Chief Cory Collogan and Fire Explorer Advisor Rodney Patterson. He also expressed gratitude to the members of the community who helped fund the trip. “This was all funded by donations,” he said.
DuBois said she is extremely proud of Josh’s accomplishment. “I’m just as proud as his family,” she said. “I’m amazed he’s a sophomore, so he still has two more years to go.”
Firefighting runs in Thomas’ family, as he is the son of Fannin County Fire Chief Larry Thomas and firefighter Beth Thomas of Morganton.
Larry Thomas said he is very proud of his son’s accomplishment and for his willingness to put forth the effort on his own. “You can’t believe how proud I am,” he said. “He stepped up and challenged himself to do this. It’s just a real good feeling.”
“It was exciting to watch the competition and see how everything was done,” Beth Thomas said. “It was nice to see Josh do so well.”
DuBois also complimented Thomas for taking the initiative to prepare for the event. “I really didn’t teach him anything, he did it on his own,” she said “He’s worked very hard for this.”
Josh is planning to take the test to achieve the rank of Firefighter 1 as soon he turns 18. He said the only holding him back from doing it now is his age.
With two more years left to compete in the Skills USA competitions, Thomas said he is determined to earn the national championship for the firefighting event. “I’m getting first next year,” he said.
Thomas said he’d recommend that other students join Skills USA because “it’s a good opportunity and it helps you decide what you want to do.”
After graduating from high school in a couple of years, Thomas said he is planning on going to work as a firefighter full time.
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