For firefighters, it is the equivalent of the Olympic Games.
The challenge is to be the fastest at removing victims trapped in crushed vehicles.
Over the next four days, teams from 27 countries are competing in the North American Vehicle Rescue Challenge. It's the first time the event is being held in Calgary.
The teams are composed of six members and are given ten minutes to accomplish their task. There are 86 different scenarios from cars trapped under street lights to overturned vehicles.
The Calgary fire department has two teams in the competition. The event, which is open to the public, is taking place at the Coast Plaza Hotel until Saturday.
Some of the participating firefighters have faced real life disasters including the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001.
Dennis O'Reilly, a retired New York fireman, worked at ground zero. "It was pandemonium, you were overwhelmed by what you saw at arrival," he said.
In Calgary, rescue crews respond to more than 5-hundred incidents a year, assisting drivers or passengers who need to be cut out of crushed vehicles.
Calgary firefighter Scott Cowan knows all about the hazards.
"When you come to a vehicle crash, there's glass, fluids, propane, gasoline, all sorts of hazards. The only reason we are there is to cut someone out of a car because they are injured," he said.
The winners of the challenge will be awarded specialized rescue equipment.
Next year's competition will be held in South Carolina.
