A special group of La Crosse firefighters is headed to a national competition.

The six man extrication team won the Great Lakes Invitational in Madison over the weekend.

The competition had the La Crosse team facing off against seven other teams from Wisconsin and Illinois.
The team is ranked third in the nation.

Firefighter Jim Hillcoat says the team is given 20-minutes to pull victims out of a crash simulation to safety.

This year's scenario was a multiple car crash with power poles and other obstructions.

The win means the team is qualified for Nationals in Washington state in 2009.
But it'll compete sooner than that.

The team is headed to Rochester, New York later this month to compete in the 2008 national competition.