A team of Richmond firefighters proved to be in sync not only when battling fires, but also on the ice.
Richmond Fire-Rescue's hockey team won gold in the Division 1 ice hockey category at the 2025 World Police and Fire Games that took place in Birmingham, Ala., from July 1 to 6.
The team, composed of 14 first responders from Richmond Fire-Rescue, claimed the championship title against Sureté du Québec with a 5-2 win in the finals.
The World Police and Fire Games is an Olympic-style competition with more than 60 sports events.
Thousands of first responders, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, border protection, immigration and customers, from across the world come together every two years to compete in the event.
Richmond Fire-Rescue's hockey team manager Brandon Underwood said it meant a lot to the team to have been undefeated for the entire week of games.
"It felt awesome to have won and represented our city with a team of people whom you work with closely," said Underwood.
A lot of work and patience from everyone helped the team figure out practice times since "someone's always working 24/7 at the hall" as firefighters, he explained.
The Richmond team planned and started practicing together for the competition as early as a year ago.
"We didn't make the decision on a whim, and we also felt like we had a good enough team to where we could compete in the top division."
Underwood told the Richmond News that his teammates ranged from guys who played in the National Hockey League to those who just started playing when they were hired as firefighters.
"There's something to be said about not only playing hockey with your friends, but also playing with your co-workers and people that you do a pretty high-level of a stress job with."
Most of the members, he added, are in their 30s and 40s, with many of them not having played much hockey "since college or pro."
"Just super proud to represent the City of Richmond, our fire department and also our Local 1286, which was supporting us; and all the members back in Richmond and across the Lower Mainland who were following it," said Underwood.
"I'm just really proud of the guys and just a moment that none of us will forget."
When asked what the team did to celebrate the win, Underwood said they had a barbecue dinner at an Airbnb with most of the members, albeit some had to fly home early.
The last time Richmond Fire-Rescue had a team enter the Games was around 2009, when it was held in Vancouver
Underwood said he's hopeful they can send a team to the next competition in Perth, Australia, in 2027.
"It's quite a bit farther to go. If it's up to me, we'll definitely go, but again, lots of planning," he said.
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