By Solomon Crenshaw Jr. |The Birmingham Times

For many Birmingham-area first responders, this week’s 2025 World Police and Fire Games (BHM 2025 WPFG) is about more than competing against peers from around the globe. It’s a family reunion, they say.

“It’s competition. It’s athleticism,” said Sergeant Dana Sartalamacchia of the Birmingham Police Department, who’ll compete in rowing. “You get to have camaraderie and meet people from all over the world that you might not have another chance to meet.”

Birmingham Fire Department Lieutenant Garth Jones described it as a worldwide family gathering in a central location.

“No matter where we are from or where we work, ultimately we all do the same job,” Jones said. “We all have an immediate commonality in our profession. Even as competitors and total strangers, we all share an unspoken bond from similar experiences ‘doing the job.’

BHM 2025 WPFG will host more than 8,500 first responders, about 700 Alabamians, from nearly 80 countries in 1,600 medal events, who are current and retired public agency personnel. The opening ceremony is 6 p.m. on June 27 in Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The closing ceremony is at 4:30 p.m. on July 6 at the Athletes’ Village at City Walk.

In between, competition will span central Alabama. From swimming, toughest competitor alive and indoor volleyball at Birmingham CrossPlex, to jiu jitsu, judo, karate, taekwondo, wrestling at Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium, to boxing at Alabama Theater to cycling criterium at Talladega Superspeedway and 31 more sports.

(For a full competition schedule click here)

The Games of Heroes, as they’re sometimes called, features more than 60 sports across more than 30 venues around Birmingham and central Alabama. The metro area will be treated to free, exciting opportunities to watch these athletic events.

And while firefighters, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, game wardens and bobbies from Great Britain will compete against one another, they bring a brotherhood and sisterhood to this event.

They are truly on one team, one worldwide family.

“No matter where we are from or where we work, ultimately we all do the same job,” Jones said. “We all have an immediate commonality in our profession. Even as competitors and total strangers, we all share an unspoken bond from similar experiences ‘doing the job.’

“I expect that making new friends even competing against one another will be extremely easy,” Jones added. “I hope there will be plenty of down time to meet each other, share stories, and learn something new from each other.”

Michael Peagler, a Birmingham Fire Department medic who’s competing in boxing, said it’s an honor to be among first responders from all over the world. “I never imagined myself in this position,” he said.

BPD Officer Telly Hernandez said he will bring a hefty amount of admiration for those against whom he’ll be competing in a pair of pistol-shooting events – Police Pistol Combat and biathlon.

“Even though it’s a competitive event, I have mad respect for other countries and their police force,” he said. “I’m sure that no matter how much training I’ve done to this point, there’s going to be other competitors that are very well versed in their craft and that are very physically fit.”

For BPD’s Ronald Jennings, 63, this won’t be the first time he’s gone against other first responders “because back when we had the Southeastern Police and Fire Games, in the 2000s, I competed then in the Toughest Competitor Alive at least twice,” he said. “I did pretty good. I came in second in that arena. But at that time, it wasn’t an age bracket.”

Jennings will participate in track and field, running the 1,500, 800- and 200-meter races and CrossFit, a circuit training event that involves lifting weights and doing calisthenics.

“It is very unique and surprising to meet different races from other countries, and find out that the way they do things and the way things are organized are so much different from us,” he said. “Just to meet people and find out that they are like-minded, even though they are spread abroad … across the world.”

BFD Sergeant Courtney George, 32, who grew up in Birmingham’s Ensley Community, said she’ll be thinking about much more than the thrill of competition when she tees it up on the golf course.

“It’s also an opportunity to create lasting bonds with first responders from around the world,” she said. “The camaraderie that happens is truly special.

“When first responders gather for these Games, we share a common purpose which I believe is to celebrate our dedication to service and to honor the sacrifices made in the line of duty,” continued George, whose primary job is driver of her apparatus. “Whether they are police officers, firefighters or emergency medical personnel, each competitor brings their own stories, experiences and insights to the games.”

Here’s a closer look at some Birmingham’s competitors:

Sgt. Courtney George, Birmingham Fire and Rescue

George grew up in Ensley but is a 2011 graduate of Ramsay High School. She picked up golf as a freshman for the Rams.

“I want to say we started our golf team that (her freshman) year or maybe two years before that,” she said. “My history teacher was the golf instructor, the golf coach. He kind of talked me into trying out for the team and I actually had a really good swing.

“I was really good at it and I just stuck with it,” George said. “It came easily for me and, honestly, it was almost calming once you learn how to play and get the gist of the game. It Is actually really, really calming. I think that’s what got me attracted to it.”

The fire department sergeant worked on her game by playing rounds with her uncle, Robert George. “I think he’s the only (other) one in my family that played,” she said.

George said her long game at least puts her on par with anyone else.

“My biggest strength on the course is my driving,” she said. “I drive the ball really far off the tee box. I think that’ll be my plus on that end. I do have some things I need to work on but I know where I need to perfect my game at but driving is one of my strong suits.”

Telly Hernandez, Birmingham Police Department

Hernandez is a Houston, Texas, native who was raised in a law enforcement family.

“As a young child, I grew up and saw my dad come home from work every day,” he said. “He originally started his career as a New Orleans cop but he served at multiple different agencies in Texas. My dad was a cop for over 30 years in Texas in around the Harris County area, to be specific. But my older brother, he’s actually a game warden in Texas as well.”

The 27-year-old has been a Birmingham police officer for four years. The University of Alabama alumnus is in the Special Enforcement Team, a uniformed division that falls under narcotics.

In the World Police and Fire Games, Hernandez will compete in Police Pistol Combat and the biathlon, an event where he will run a mile, shoot 12 rounds, run an additional mile, shoot another 12 rounds and then run a final mile.

“I guess I’m just looking forward to see, number one, how the events are done, period,” Hernandez said. “But also I would really like to see how the other cultures and other countries police departments perform as well.”

Ronald Jennings, Birmingham Police Department

Family members tell the story of Ronald Jennings foretelling his career in law enforcement.

“I don’t recall this but my uncles told me that when I was 5 years old that I told them that one day I was going to be a police officer,” Jennings said. “But I knew for a fact that I always liked helping the underdog. I hate to see anybody getting taken advantage of. Growing up with my siblings and friends, whenever we had a physical altercation with anybody, I made sure I stepped in and handled the situation.”

Jennings recently became a detective on BPD’s Crime Reduction Team. Before that, he worked 25 years in SWAT in the Tactical Unit.

Lt. Garth Jones. Birmingham Fire and Rescue

Jones, a lieutenant at Birmingham Engine Company 6 downtown, knew he liked his sport – fishing – from his days growing up between Birmingham’s East Lake and Roebuck Springs neighborhoods. “I used to fish in East Lake Park,” the 12-year veteran firefighter said. “Actually, the first time I remember going fishing with my dad was with cane poles at East Lake Park.

“As a child, the first time you catch a fish, you’ve got the bug,” Jones said. “But really, it starts out as more like a father-and-son hanging out kind of deal. That’s the fun part. Then when you start catching fish, you realize, hey, it’s actually fun for this one too.”

Down the road, he’s envisioning having some of those father-son moments with his son, 11-month-old Dylan. “I already have a fishing rod for him,” the angler father said. “We got him his first infant life jacket the other day so he’ll be ready to get on the boat.”

Michael Peagler, Birmingham Fire and Rescue

Peagler, a 24-year-old fire medic, grew up in Birmingham’s Grasselli Heights neighborhood. He began his high school education at Wenonah High before a house fire forced his family to move to Hoover, Alabama, where he graduated from Hoover High. And set him on a career path.

“We lost everything in the fire, pretty much,” he recalled. “I always wanted to help people. I wanted to go to the military but it seemed like being a firefighter was the next best thing, so here I am.”

Peagler shares a love of boxing with his father and recalled them taking in a Deontay Wilder title defense in Birmingham. But while he’s long been a fan of boxing, Peagler has little experience in the ring.

“My friend, who’s like my brother, he’s been boxing,” the medic said. “He stays in Kansas right now and he kind of just got me deeper into it, to actually come and training for it. He pretty much pulled me into doing it (with us) having a little sparring session between each other. And just, I liked it.”

Sgt. Dana Sartalamacchia, Birmingham Police Department

Sartalamacchia will race but she won’t actually go anywhere as she’s signed up to compete in stationary rowing. “I did CrossFit for about six years,” she said. “I stopped doing it because of a back injury I was always rowing since it’s one of the staple exercises in CrossFit.

“I was always a really, really strong rower,” Sartalamacchia said, adding that she could out-row a lot of the men in the class. “When I saw that they had stationary rowing, I was like that won’t aggravate that my back and I know I’m good at it. I wanted to do that.”

Sartalamacchia, 42, grew up in Piedmont, Calif., across the bay from San Francisco. She works in recruiting and hiring, which Birmingham has worked to increase its ranks of officers.

BHM 2025 WPFG will host more than 8,500 first responders from nearly 80 countries in 1,600 medal events. Competitors are current and retired public agency personnel from across the globe. The opening ceremony is 6 p.m. on June 27 in Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The closing ceremony is at 4:30 p.m. on July 6 at the Athletes’ Village at City Walk.