The tanned and tight abs and ripped biceps would indicate they’ve got the strength it takes to fight a raging fire, extricate a driver trapped in a tangle of metal and glass or pull a distressed swimmer from an icy mountain stream.
The fact they’re willing to put their physical attributes on display while a dozen media figures ask a bunch of crazy questions and a mostly female audience whoops and hollers demonstrates a different kind of strength: a bravery that the fire department training manuals probably don’t cover.
It shows they’ve got the nerve to try to become, say, Mr. October or Ms. January in the Colorado Firefighters Calendar, a project that has raised about $400,000 for The Children’s Hospital Burn Unit over the past seven years.
Thirty-three firefighters were in the running for a spot in the 2012 calendar and stated their case — in dress blues and bunkers — before a panel that included Channel 2’s Chris Parente, 9News meterologist Becky Ditchfield and “Shear Genius” runner-up Matthew Morris.
The format is pretty much “anything goes,” with contenders tossing T-shirts, flowers, candy and gum to the fans; spraying the crowd with glitter shot from a specially equipped fire extinguisher or tossing Mardi Gras-style beads to the outstretched arms that lined the runway at Exdo Event Center.
While some of the contestants were in it for a lark, at least two had deeply personal reasons for trying out. Erik Pingle, who is with the Buckley Air Force Base department, and Mario Molinaro of the Brighton Fire Department both have relatives who were burn victims.
Pingle’s son, Cody, when he was 5, suffered a burn on his back that kept him in and out of Children’s for six months. Molinaro’s dad spent two months in the University Hospital burn unit after incurring second- and third-degree burns on his body.
The judges scored the firefighters on looks and personality. The results will be tallied by Fired Up For Kids founder Kirsten Hamling, and once the winners are determined, they’ll be notified in time to prepare for the photo shoots to be conducted in late spring and early summer.
A party to celebrate the calendar’s release will be Aug. 26 at the City Hall Event Center in Denver.
Additional information, including an application for consideration in 2013, is available at .
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, seenfirst and GetItWrite on Twitter
