Werribee brigade succeeds at Road Crash Rescue Challenge

Image: Werribee Fire Brigade

 

Werribee Fire Brigade had great success in the 2022 NSW State Road Crash Rescue Challenge in Dubbo.

 

 

Achieving overall first place, the team of seven Werribee volunteers was thrilled with the results.

Werribee firefighter and team leader Daniel May said the event is a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills, consolidate existing techniques and enhance our capability at incidents.

“This is our second year at the New South Wales state competition after attending the Australasian competition for many years,” Daniel said.

“We saw it as an opportunity to further develop networks and ensure we are current with the latest technologies and techniques. We can bring new skills and techniques back to not only our peers at the brigade but utilise these at incidents we respond to, which was evident last year.

“We returned from the challenge and later that evening we were called to a truck vs car and were faced with a challenging extrication. Several of the members of the team were in attendance and were faced with one of most difficult jobs in recent memory. Many of the learnings from the challenge were implemented at the incident.”

Daniel said it’s a great chance to learn from each other, especially our interstate counterparts.  

“The event is a great networking opportunity, as well as a chance for a bit of interstate rivalry, but it’s also a fantastic way to learn further develop our technical capability from our interstate peers that will ultimately benefit our community back home.”

Werribee brigade Captain Michael Wells said the group’s attendance not only benefits those who travel to New South Wales, but also the entire brigade.

"They come back and spend a great deal of time reinforcing the skills that they’ve learned, showing the innovation and technology that’s out there and ensuring the Werribee Fire Brigade is at its peak in relation to our rescue capabilities," Michael said.

“We always aim for our skills to be at the highest standard they can possibly be, and by attending these events we can take steps to achieve that. We train hard knowing that when we do respond to incidents lives are on the line, and this is the thing that makes a difference.”

Michael also noted the benefits for the wider community.

“If we are in a place where we can reduce extrication times and thus improve patient outcomes for our community and those that travel within it, then our attendance at the competition has achieved more than winning first place, as our greater community is also a winner.”

As well as taking out first place in the overall Challenge, Werribee Fire Brigade also took out first place in the Controlled Rescue and Entrapped Rescue events, and second place in the Trauma Challenge and CPR Challenge.

You can find out more about the NSW State Road Crash Rescue Challenge here.

 

 

Submitted by	CFA News