Start Late - Work Hard - Finish On Top


This was the title of an article written on Roy Davis when, as a 17 year old and Captain of his high school swim team, he completed his senior season undefeated. This same title applies to his starting a new career late in life as a firefighter and goes on to win the Firefighter Combat Challenge in the over 50 category. What led to his success in the combat challenge was probably due to the training his mother gave him early in his life. See the 1942 photo on the right where she is showing him the proper dummy drag technique before the end of his first year in life.

After retiring from the Air Force as a Bird Colonel and a pilot with over 7,000 flying hours, Roy tested and was hired as a career firefighter for the City of Tacoma, Washington. He was always interested in following in the footsteps of his father who was a 25-year veteran of FDNY and Captain of the prestigious Rescue 4. In 1994, Roy started out as the oldest recruit in the history of the Tacoma Fire Department where his training officers, and probably most others, wondered how a retired military officer could handle being told, “the john you just cleaned needs to be cleaned again, boot!” Needless to say his year as a probationary was interesting.

As most everyone knows, firefighting can be a very physically demanding job. Roy has always worked hard at staying fit and exercise has always been a part of his life. In addition to his high school swimming accomplishments, he went to college on an athletic scholarship and then continued on to become an All American masters swimmer by winning the National Championship in the 200 meter breaststroke in 1981.

Since being hired by Tacoma Fire, Roy has participated in the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle. Competitors climb 69 commercial floors, 1311 steps in all, in full firefighting gear while on air. He has consistently placed in the top five percent of entrants even though he has been the oldest competitor. The event has grown over the years into the largest single day firefighting event in the World, attracting over 900 competitors from more than 120 departments. In 2002 Roy was a part of the 3-member team, which came in first overall. Roy has also competed and won the over 50 category in the Toughest Firefighter Alive competitions held in Las Vegas and Honolulu.

Shortly after being hired, Roy heard about On Target’s Firefighter Challenge. Because he felt he was under scrutiny as an “old guy,” he decided to give it a try. In January of 1996 he traveled to Tampa, Florida, to compete in the Worlds. In the rain, with temperatures in the low 30s, he completed the “Toughest Two Minutes in Sports” in 3 minutes and 3 seconds. This was good enough for a fourth place in the Over 50 category. In addition, amazing as it sounds, he was only nine seconds over the Over 50 world record at that time. Quickly doing the math, he figured that completing the course in less than 2 minutes 54 seconds was within the realm of possibility. In May of 1996, Roy broke the world record with a time of 2 minutes 33 seconds. In the fall of 1996 Roy was dethroned as the Over 50 champion where good friend and fellow competitor, Captain John Cerruti, broke his record. John was so proud of his accomplishment that he got a huge multi-color, flaming, Firefighter Challenge tattoo on his arm. After losing the title at the World Championships in 1997 to Roy, John told him he now needed to get a tattoo. Roy told him it would probably not go over well with his wife. John’s reply was to “tell you her won’t have to wear it that long—you’re over 50 and besides it won’t be long before you can’t wear tank tops anymore!”

From 1997 through 2002, Roy continued to win the Over 50 title and break his own record each year. Another good friend, Denny Peffer of Colorado Springs, finally broke the Over 50 record in Las Vegas this year. Roy was the first to great him at the finish line to thank him for taking the monkey off of his back. It was not getting any easier to defend the over 50 title at age 62. Thanks again, Denny! During his tenure in the Challenge Roy has broken the Over 50 record six times, won the Over 50 title five times, and set the Over 60 record at 1 minute 52 seconds.

The Challenge has had a major impact on Roy’s performance on the job and also on life in general. Where else could you find a sport where workouts so closely correlate to your profession? If he ever questioned getting up for a workout, there were no excuses. Workouts directly relate to tasks required for the job: stair climbing, hose handling, equipment hoisting, forcible entry, and victim rescue. If that wasn’t enough incentive, there was the on-the-job recognition he got from his peers for doing well at the challenge. His fitness for duty was never questioned. And finally, even though he never sought the limelight, he said he would be hard pressed to say that he didn’t enjoy it.

Roy retired from the Tacoma Fire Department in 2003. This time he plans to stay retired. He still expects to be a part of the Firefighter Combat Challenge as a participant, not as a competitor--that is at least until there are enough “old guys” to start an over 60 category.