“Photo: Firefighter Mike Delmonte struggles with a hose during the competition Tuesday night. Jim Larsen/staff photoYoung high school firefighters showed grizzled veterans that they can keep up with the best in Fire District 3’s annual Hose Evolution Competition held Tuesday night at the school district bus barn area.The high school team won the event, setting up their hoses and knocking over six targets in 11 minutes, 5 seconds. It was not a shock, said FD 3 Captain Mike Scott. They were ready to show their stuff.The teenage firefighters practice with their stations every Tuesday night, and twice a month have special training sessions just for themselves, according to Scott. They dethroned the Bayview Station crew, which won the competition last year.The 2000 winning team consisted of Bryce Hansen, Jimmy Berto, Brian Guernsey, Melissa Simmons and Elizabeth Smith. Their officer and the truck driver for the event was Lt. Eldon Baker of the Bush Point Station.For their impressive performance the young firefighters will have their names inscribed on a trophy. It was their choice which station to have it displayed at for the year, but they didn’t want it at a station. Fire Chief Don Smith and other department leaders agreed to their request to have the trophy displayed at the high school.Captain Cotton said the competition is designed to test basic firefighter skills, rather than anything fancy. It’s just firefighter stuff, he said. Basic skills to advanced.As in real firefighting, not everything went smoothly. At one point Mike Delmonte had more than he could handle when the hose activated before he was ready. A high pressure spray hit his helmet’s face shield and he fell to the ground as two other firefighters jumped on the hose to help him gain control.Cotton said the problem was due to the nozzle being open when the hose was charged. Good recovery, though, man, he told Delmonte, who was not injured.Besides training, another purpose of the hose competition was to attract new volunteers to Fire District 3. Perhaps the trophy at the high school will help in that effort, too. “