FIRE AID recently returned from a visit to La Rochelle, France where our member the World Rescue Organisation (WRO) hosted their annual World Challenge event. The four-day event saw 35 of the world’s most skilled fire fighters compete in staged vehicle rescue challenge and a further 34 teams compete in the trauma care scenarios.

The challenge replicates real-life scenarios, requiring teams to respond within tight time frames to world-class technical, medical and command standards whilst constantly being assessed by World Rescue Organisation (WRO) assessors. The assessors come from around the world to provide their expert experience and advice to assess competing teams.

Three extrication teams from the UK entered the competition, including FIRE AID supporting Fire and Rescue Services South Wales and East Sussex. South Wales Bridgend extrication team were reigning world champions from 2018’s contest and after giving a fantastic performance in France won the title for a second year. Extrication teams were challenged with three scenarios:

1. Rapid extrication, where the casualty must be safely extricated in 10 minutes.
2. Standard extrication, where the scenario is more complex and the team have 20 minutes to extract the casualty.
3. Complex extrication, where the teams are faced with a difficult extrication of two casualties.

Whilst four UK teams took part in the trauma care challenge including FIRE AID supporting service, London Fire Brigade who were crowned world champions in the overall trauma category.

The challenge is a great opportunity for international teams to share knowledge and learn new techniques and skills.

The event is open to the public and offers a wide range of activities, which raise awareness of the importance of post-crash response and the varied role of fire fighters. It was great to see so many children on school trips at the event gaining a better understanding of road safety, but in a fun and interactive environment.