LAURIUM - The 57th annual Copper Country Volunteer Firefighters Tournament went "very well," according to Annette Butina.
Butina, who is secretary for the Copper Country Volunteer Firefighters Association, said participation in Saturday's tournament was good.
"We had 18 departments racing out of 36 in our association," she said.
Teams participated in four events, including hole roll, coupling, interchange and mystery, which Butina said this year was a patient carry.
Butina said there were ties for Firefighter of the Year and Fire Department of the Year.
The firefighters of the year were Brian Rimplea and Joseph Pizza of the Hancock Fire Department, who tried to rescue residents of an apartment building on Quincy Street on July 25. Four residents died in the fire.
The Hancock and Houghton fire departments tied, Butina said, because they both had structure fires on their main streets, and they kept the fires from spreading. The Houghton Fire Department worked a fire at the Surplus Outlet Dec. 26.
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie@ mininggazette.com.