The New Zealand Firefighter Combat Challenge involves wearing full bunker gear and breathing apparatus as each competitor races against others and the clock, performing a series of tasks over a course.
The tasks include climbing a six storey tower carrying a 19kg hose, hoisting a 70mm hose coil six storeys, using a 4kg shot hammer to drive a beam 1.5m and dragging a life-sized dummy 30.5m.
Munro has been working as a firefighter since 2003.
Before that she was a physical education teacher.
"I looked at police, army and the fire service but, after speaking to some other police officers, I was put off so I decided to go for the fire service and got in. I haven't looked back," she said.
After her 12 weeks' training in Rotorua she worked in Otara and Hamilton before moving to Auckland two years ago to join the Otahuhu Fire Station.
Originally from Matamata, Munro, 37, went to university in Waikato and taught physical education in Cambridge High School and Matamata College before changing careers.
She still has a teaching role, helping women train for their physical pre-entry test and training through the New Zealand Fire Service Women network. She also encourages women to apply and provides support through the recruitment process.
She is a former national amateur bodybuilding champion - she attended the Nabba Universe bodybuilding competition and came third in 2005 and has already attended the World Firefighter Combat Challenge three times, coming second twice.
Her goal is to return to the challenge in 2013 and take the title.
To prepare, she would attend the World Firefighter Games in Sydney next year, competing in the Toughest Firefighter Alive competition, which was like four combat challenges in a row, she said.
The hardest part of being a firefighter is not the physicality for Munro, it's attending fatal car crashes and dealing with grieving survivors.
"That side of it is unpleasant. But it is the best job in the world and I wouldn't do anything else," she said.
