COMPETITION
Firefighters excel in Olympicsstyle international sporting events
BY BROOKE MCAFEE
Firefighters with the Jeffersonville Fire Department have proven their athletic skills over the past decade as they compete with first responders from around the world .
Since 2011 , It has been a tradition for Jeffersonville firefighters to compete in the biennial World Police and Fire Games , an international , Olympics-style sporting event open to police officers , firefighters and EMS personnel .
Athletes from the Jeffersonville Fire Department have won many medals over the years , including some top honors in the international competition . Local firefighters have participated in the multi-sport competition in New York City , Fairfax , Va . and Los Angeles , as well as the Canadian-American Police and Fire Games in Pennsylvania .
Josh Stith , a lieutenant with the Jeffersonville Fire Department , is among the local firefighters who have competed in the World Games . He has been feted in numerous events .
Stith wrestled in high school and later coached wrestling at Jeffersonville High School . Along with fellow firefighter Jason Wiesenauer , he decided to participate in the 2011 World Police and Fire Games in New York City .
ABOVE : JEFFERSONVILLE FIREFIGHTERS CAMERON WOLFE AND JOSH STITH SHOW THE MEDALS THEY WON AT THE 2017 WORLD POLICE AND FIRE GAMES IN LOS ANGELES .
LEFT : JEFFERSONVILLE FIREFIGHTER JOSH STITH HAS WON MEDALS AT MULTIPLE WORLD POLICE AND FIRE GAMES .
In the 2011 games , Stith won gold in freestyle wrestling and bronze in Greco-Roman wrestling .
“ I never wrestled in college , but there were a lot of college wrestlers and people from different countries who were pretty good ,” Stith said . “ If I had looked them up before I wrestled ,
48 Jeffersonville Fire Department / 150 years