To Yun-ming decided to become a fireman more than 20 years ago, after rescue workers saved his brother from the wreck of their motorcycle accident.
Yesterday, Mr To, 45, the principal fireman at Tsing Yi fire station, proved he was among the fittest firemen in the world by winning the 9th World Firefighter Games 2006 for his age group.
Brazilian fireman Fabricio Nascimento, 35, who beat 204 competitors from 25 countries, was named the overall winner and the world's toughest firefighter.
'I have been doing intensive training, including swimming, cycling and running, since last August to prepare for the competition,' said Mr Nascimento, who has been a fireman for 16 years.
He finished all the gruelling events in just eight minutes and 32 seconds.
Mr To, who had trained intensively for a month, finished the same events - including climbing 15 floors of stairs with heavy equipment and scaling a three-metre tall wall - in 11 minutes and 12 seconds.
