file photo by Boyd Loving
JUNE 24, 2015, 3:46 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015, 5:33 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Forget chasing fires. Three Ridgewood firefighters will be chasing gold medals at the World Police and Fire Games for the next week.
Capt. Chris DuFlocq, Lt. Brendan Corcoran and Fireman Brian Peacock are among the 12,000 international athletes — all police officers and career firefighters from 70 countries — competing in the Olympics-style games in Fairfax County, Va., that begin Friday and run through July 5.
DuFlocq, a 56-year-old Midland Park resident, placed an ad in a union magazine in 2011 to pull together a soccer team. Firefighters and cops from all over the state responded. “It was more successful that I thought it would be,” he said.
The team — dubbed “N.J. Guns and Hoses” — went on to win national gold medals in 2013 and 2014. More than a dozen players practice once or twice a week and they play in tournaments throughout the year.
“We’ve got national, now we want to see if we can compete with the world,” DuFlocq said. “It’s going to be a struggle. It’s going to be some tough games.”
Corcoran, 37, of Ridgewood said he has already broken two world records. He has smashed the Guinness World Records for one-mile and half-marathon runs in full firefighter gear but he is waiting for it to be made official. He ran in 25 pounds of gear to raise awareness for firefighter fitness, as well as raise money for Code 3 for a Cure Foundation, a national non-profit charity that supports firefighters with cancer.
