Tyler Gutterman took 2 minutes and 33 seconds to capture the Poplar Bluff Fall Classic Firefighter Challenge Championship Saturday at the Black River Coliseum.
The 26-year-old Poplar Bluff firefighter said, he “did the challenge as a good way to keep friendly competition with the guys at work, and as a community outreach to showcase what the fire department has as far as our equipment like the extrication demo.”
Firefighters hope to make the event an annual competition to help the public understand “what we have to offer, and a lot of the guys in the department train hard off-shift to stay in shape and keep being good at what we do.”
Gutterman had worked a variety of contracting jobs away from home as well as in the area but was not happy. He wanted to be closer to his family: his wife, Tiffany; his three children, Silas, 8; Gracelyn, 3; and Elijah, 2; as well as his parents, Clay Gutterman and Tiffany Steen.
“There is a mindset that comes with the job,” said Gutterman, who credits his teacher at Three Rivers College David Withrow as the “man who did a lot in shaping me as a firefighter back in the academy.”
Withrow, 65, is the instructional assistant/fire science adjunct at Three Rivers College and a retired lieutenant from Champaign, Illinois. He also competed in the event.
Gutterman explained, Withrow helped shape him and taught him self-control.
“It’s a lot about control, self-control,” Gutterman said. “There’s a lot of factors that play into it and Dave Withrow was a good instructor. He taught the curriculum, and what it takes to fight fires, and hands-on training. He taught all of us what it really means to be a firefighter.”
Being a firefighter is “a little different to everybody. You have to want to be a firefighter. It’s not like a regular job. You can’t wake up every day, just try to suffer through your shift and expect to be good at the same time. Every day I get to go on shift I want to be there. I want to be a firefighter and I’ve got a lot more growing to do and a lot more learning to be the best I can be at every call, alright. That’s what he taught me. He always said you gotta want it.”
Competing from PBFD were Mike Moffitt, Fire Chief; Roy Lane, Battalion Chief; Steve Burkhead, Brad Jones and Justin Moyers, all captains; and firefighters, Jeremy Downing, Mike Somers, Eric Mierisch and Gutterman; Butler County Firefighter Cameron Rose; Sikeston Department of Public Safety officer Zach Boyer; Trey Ellis, Jackson Fire, previously with Portageville Fire, who went through the fire program at TRC, as did multiple others running the competition; and Stephen Murphy, State Fire Investigator/Doniphan Fire.
Intermission competitors Brandon Heck, Butler County EMS; Logan Jones, son of Captain Brad Jones PBFD; Lane McDaniel and Josh Woodrum, both of Poplar Bluff Police Department; Jacob Ford and Takota Pruden, both from Ozark Fitness.
Withrow is a retired lieutenant and lead instructor for the TRC fire program. He’s 65 years old.
Two competitors couldn’t make it for Steadfast Training, so Gary Croy and his daughter Lauren Goodwin filled those spots.
Chief Moffitt and his firefighters, along with Downtown Poplar Bluff Executive Director Morgan McIntosh, planned a variety of events.
The Kid Zone activities included bounce houses and a challenge course for the young future firefighters.
Firefighters demonstrated how they use extrication tools on a car donated by Greg Browning.
Sponsors were Bank of Missouri, First Missouri State Bank, Gamblin Lumber Co., Kissinger & Kirkman Investment Centre, LLC, Larry Hillis Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat, Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center and Southern Bank. Ronnie Cline with PB Realty grilled hot dogs for donations towards the scholarship, and Christian Automotive sponsored face painting. Food trucks included Mireya’s Mexican Food Truck and Waves Mini Donuts.
“While there was no admission charge, donations could be made to the department’s scholarship fund,” Moffitt said. “This also will help promote emergency services careers with the college. We want to encourage young people from this area to pursue a career in emergency services, whether it be here in Poplar Bluff or somewhere else. We’d like them to stay here.”
“Our department, I’m hoping, is going to grow in the next few years,” he continued. “We want to promote it and make it an attractive career field for people of our area. Our goal is to send two individuals through our fire science program at Three Rivers a year. We will have them submit an essay to us and we will have our own review board. We’ll try to determine who will get the scholarship.”
The first scholarship will be awarded in honor of Walter Weaver, Moffitt said.
“He’s the only Poplar Bluff firefighter killed in the line of duty. From there, we will do it in memory of other firefighters who have passed away,” he said.