400 Alabama first responders compete in World Police and Fire Games

The athletes competing at the 2025 World Police and Fire Games have another life – sometimes several – outside of their sport, that requires a uniform and safety equipment.

The Birmingham area has been hosting the 2025 WPFG since June 27 and the Games will conclude July 6 after bringing more than 8,500 first responders representing 70 countries to compete in 60 sports. From Daphne to Huntsville, Alabama is represented statewide by 400 police and firefighters.

The athletes competing in the Games are first responders, who say bringing their athletic skills and training to law enforcement, firefighting and rescue work is beneficial.

Athletes like Eric Meyer, 46, a lieutenant in the Mountain Brook Fire Department who competed in jiu jitsu.

“If you stay calm, then you can make decisions,” which is beneficial to fire fighting and rescue work, Meyer said.

“I know how it feels to get smothered or choked,” he continued, “so how do I make the next decision? How do I stay calm, when rolling against an opponent that is 40 pounds heavier?  In my job, the worst you can do is panic.” He said jiu jitsu is “a phenomenal thing” for his work.

Greg Dawson, 41, who has 18 years with the Hoover Fire Department, echoed similar thoughts about firefighting and jiu jitsu. “It teaches me to keep pushing, to find a way out, to escape.” He said that as he gets older, “jiu jitsu keeps me going.”

Although Meyer has 23 years of experience as a firefighter, he is a recent arrival to jiu jitsu. Opponents often have decades of experience in this martial art that emphasizes grappling and strategy.

“I needed a new sport at 40,” Meyer said. So he signed up when a gym opened up next to his other life, brewmaster at Cahaba Brewing Co. He began learning the craft of brewing beer “years ago with friends. In 2011 we got an LLC and opened Cahaba Brewing in 2012.” He said his education at UAB in business and science helped to create the brewing company of today.

Meyer said the games are “my first time ever” to compete in jiu jitsu. He didn’t win any of his three matches, but the opportunity to meet first responders “from around the world, trade coins and patches, tell stories, makes the games fun.” He’s already thinking about the 2027 games in Perth, Australia.

Cheers and yells are heard in many languages as teammates, friends and family cheer their favorite athletes at all the events.

At the Ultimate Firefighter Challenge, held at the Hoover Met’s parking lot, Alabama’s summer sunshine and hot temperatures may have slowed some of the athletes, when running between fire plugs and traffic cones, running up and down a five-story tower carrying 40-pound hoses and chainsaws or carrying a 175-pound rescue dummy around an obstacle course.

The cheers and yells helped these firefighters finish, even if it meant last place. They didn’t quit. They finished.

The games are open to teams and individuals representing their countries, including one individual firefighter, Elliott Moore, 38, representing the Isle of Man, a dependency of the British Crown with a population of 85,000, who competed in the Ultimate Firefighter Challenge. Moore has competed in this challenge at prior games – Belfast in 2013; Fairfax, Virginia in 2015 and Los Angeles in 2017.

“It’s good fun,” Moore said. “It helps get the Isle of Man on the map.” He said he’s frequently asked, “‘Where’s that?’ And it’s nice to speak to other nations. As much as the games are about competition, it’s about camaraderie and meeting new people.

“This morning I heard the chatter of Taiwanese,” he continued. “Yesterday I talked to someone from Canada and met Americans from two states.”

He said there are seven fire stations on the Isle of Man, and his work includes “rescuing dogs that fell over a cliff. People ask why we rescue dogs. It’s because that’s better than rescuing their owners who tried to rescue their dogs and fell over the cliffs.”

His hometown of Douglas may not have the training facilities that larger cities have, but Moore said “there is a building with 93 steps one minute from my home.” He stays in shape by running up and down those steps, along with practicing hose runs.

For Moore and his wife, Jo, traveling to the games is a way to “go on holiday.” After Birmingham, the couple and friends from Isle of Man plan to see a bit of the U.S. “Nashville, Dollywood, Lexington, Indianapolis, Chicago and fly home.”

The 2025 World Police and Fire Games are being held in Birmingham and central Alabama, such as pistol and rifle marksmanship near Talladega, open swim at Oak Mountain State Park and many more locations. The events are free and open to the public, and the closing ceremony July 6 will be held at the BJCC City Walk and Athletes Village.