The Service
Specialist competition teams
Once again the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Vehicle Extrication team has demonstrated why they are world champions.
Competing at the World Rescue Organisation European Challenge in Austria at the weekend, Hampshire succeeded in winning every title.
This places Hampshire in an excellent position for this year’s UK Rescue Challenge, which is being held right here in the county.
Held in Zirl, the European challenge had 13 of Europe’s top vehicle extrication teams taking part from countries like Germany, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland.
Representing the UK for the second time in three years, HFRS scooped all the main prizes as well as being named the best European Team overall.
The results included:
In second place were TRT Monchengladbach from Germany who were initially without a medic for the Trauma Workshop. As a result Hampshire’s Kerry Charlton stepped in to help and came second after his colleague Jim Hutchen.
More on the Vehicle Extrication team...
Speaking after the event, HFRS Team Leader Watch Manager Steve Barrow said:
“Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has a strong team, one that the county can be proud of. We are delighted to win this title and hope we can repeat this success when the UK challenge comes to Hampshire later in the year.”
In September, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service will host the UK Rescue Challenge, which will be an opportunity to determine the best British vehicle extrication team from over 50 challenging teams.
Running from September 30 to October 2, the event is reliant on sponsors and three have signed up so far Silverlake Autoparts in Shedfield, Packexe Smash and BMW, but there are still spaces for more.
UK Rescue Organisation Challenge Hampshire 2010...
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is still in need of old cars for the challenge and anyone (within Hampshire) who might have an old car they wish to donate should contact Silverlake Autoparts on (01489) 782537 and they will collect. Please also state that it is a “Fire and Rescue donation”.
Steve added:
“Hampshire has been competing in challenges for the past 25 years and finally we are going to be hosting the UK challenge right here on our own turf.
“The UK Rescue Challenge will be an excellent opportunity for the people of Hampshire to pop along and find out first hand what a vehicle extrication is all about and why these challenges are so important in helping us gain skills that we can apply when we attend road traffic incidents.”
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Rope Rescue team has just returned from an international competition with a new addition to the trophy cabinet.
Competing against top European mountain rescue teams from countries like Switzerland, Italy and France, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service came fourth – the top performing British team – at Grimpday 2010.
Grimpday is a multi disciplined challenge where firefighters are faced with the technical rescue of people from heights, or those trapped below ground.
This annual event is held in the picturesque city of Namur, Belgium and is an opportunity for European rope rescue teams to come together and share best practice and learn whilst undertaking a timed rope rescue circuit.
It is also an excellent training ground for British teams taking part in the UK Rescue Challenge, which is being held in Hampshire this September.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has taken part in Grimpday for the past four years and has steadily improved its rankings and is now competing for a place in the top three.
The Hampshire team is also ranked number 1 in the UK after taking gold at last year’s UK Rescue Challenge – an event which it is hosting in 2010.
Hampshire’s Rope Rescue team leader, Dave Heybourne, said:
“Grimpday is always a challenge for UK teams because we are competing against teams from areas where they carry out rope rescues as part of their every day job. So for us to come fourth is a really positive achievement.
“Grimpday is an excellent opportunity for all involved and every year we come away having learned something new that we can adapt to our local needs and thereby strengthen the service we offer here in Hampshire.”
Grimpday is dedicated to rescuing people trapped in perilous conditions and came about as a means of sharing various techniques used in different countries.
The Hampshire team was made up of team captain Keith Bellamy, Paul Murray, Lee Giffard and medics Richard North and Jim Hutchen.
Simon Whelan acted as the team casualty and Dave Heybourne and Alec Martin provided support.
Hampshire’s award winning vehicle extrication and trauma care team, which scooped the World Championships at the World Rescue Challenge held in Barcelona last October, has once again proven itself by clinching the most prestigious title at the 2008 World Extrication Challenge (World Rescue Wales).
In the twenty year history of the World Extrication Challenge event, no team has ever successfully retained the title in consecutive years - until now! Hosted in Cardiff by the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service from 10-12 July 2008, the event saw Hampshire’s specialist team named in top spot after a succession of excellent performances.
Competing against 32 representative teams from all around the World, including teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Africa, USA, Canada and most European Countries, Hampshire Fire and Rescue scored highly across all disciplines to take the title of World Champions. Runners up were Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, with Northern Ireland taking third place.
As well as scooping the overall winners’ title of World Champions, Hampshire claimed victory in the field of Rapid Scenario and third place in the Unlimited Scenario. Hampshire firefighters Ian Wadmore, Trevor Griffin, Andy McNamara, and Martin Gritt are now regarded as the Best Technical Team in World, with Jim Hutchen also being awarded the Best Medic in World accolade. Veteran competitor and Team Manager Steve Barrow took the top spot in the Officer In Charge competition. These results stand testimony to the professionalism, dedication and commitment of all those involved.
Commenting on the hotly-contested event, Watch Manager Steve Barrow of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:
Winning the World Challenge for a second time is a fantastic achievement for all of the team. We are now developing a new team to widen the skills base of Hampshire’s personnel and existing team members. Our focus over coming months will be to coach and mentor the new people to achieve success at the forthcoming rescue events in Stirling, Scotland (UK Nationals) in August, the European Challenge in Munich, Germany, and next year’s World Challenge in Chicago.”
Chief Officer John Bonney of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service added:
"This is a fantastic result for the team and very well deserved. World Rescue Wales has showcased the work of firefighters from around the world and has served as a valuable forum for rescue best practice.
Unfortunately, our firefighters attend road traffic collisions every day. This result demonstrates to the people of Hampshire the professional standards we practice so that, if the worst did happen, they can be assured that they would receive the best service available.
Congratulations are due to all those responsible for this excellent performance, showing that the Hampshire team really are a cut above the rest!"
Following their success at last year’s World Vehicle Extrication and Trauma Championship in Barcelona, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service’s vehicle extrication team has been crowned champions at the European championships held in Osnabrueck, Germany on April 26th - 27th 2008.
Several new team members have been recently introduced but the Hampshire team showed no signs of ‘first night nerves’, they made a winning clean sweep in every category and were duly awarded the accolade of European Champions. The Hampshire team were representing the UK at the championships and had to overcome some very credible opposition, including the Swedish and Luxemburg national champions and sixteen regional winners from all over Germany.
Firefighter Jim Hutchen, the team medic, scooped first place, as did the Hampshire technical team - Firefighters Trevor Griffin and Martin Gritt and Watch Managers Lee Havey and Mark Woods. Veteran competitor and team captain, Watch Manager Steve Barrow was named top Incident Commander, responsible for the command and control aspects of the scenarios including team and casualty safety. When the final marks were awarded, Steve scored an unprecedented 115 point margin from his next nearest rival.
Speaking after the very well organised event, Watch Manager Barrow said
“I am delighted with the results and especially pleased with the performances of our new team members.”
The team comprises of interested personnel from both the wholetime and the retained (part-time) duty systems and the competitions provide an excellent learning environment for acquiring new skills, knowledge and the opportunity to view new equipment. All of the Hampshire team are either vehicle rescue or first aid and trauma care instructors; so all aspects can be cascaded down to all operational firefighters in Hampshire.
In addition to the roadside rescue aspect of their duties, the team is heavily involved in community road safety initiatives and educational programmes, targeting a number of ‘at risk’ groups in the county, in line with the Fire and Rescue Service Plan 2008 – 20011.
The team operates through generous corporate sponsorship and this year, Makita (UK) Ltd, Weber Hydraulic (UK) Ltd, Vimpex Rescue Systems of Essex and Haix Boots/ Schuhe Produktions of Europe are proud to be associated with the team.
The team scooped its biggest and most prestigious title to date: World Champions at the World Rescue Challenge held in Barcelona, Spain, on 15-20 October 2007. Hampshire’s specialist team was named in top spot after excellent performances competing against 36 representative teams from all around the World, including teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Canada and most European Countries.
The hotly-contested competition saw Hampshire Fire and Rescue score highly across all disciplines to take the title of World Champions. Runners up were Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, with Bridgend, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service taking third place.
As well as scooping the overall winners’ title of World Champions, Hampshire claimed victory in the fields of Rapid Scenario and Unlimited Scenario. Hampshire firefighters Ian Wadmore, Trevor Griffin, Andy McNamara and Martin Gritt are now regarded as the Best Technical Team in World, with Jim Hutchen also being awarded the Best Medic in World accolade. Steve Barrow took 5th place in the Officer In Charge competition, with the whole team clinching another 5th place in the Complex Scenario round.
The World Challenge is run under the auspices of the World Rescue Organisation (WRO), an international body that incorporates regional rescue organisations from the UK, North America, Australasia and Africa.
The team represented the UK at the TERC USA International Challenge held in Clearwater, Florida from 14-18 May 2007. Pitted against some distinguished USA teams, the team recorded some very credible results:
The team gained 4th place overall in the competition.
The team competed at the TERC Canada World Extrication Challenge held at Burlington Ontario Canada between 18 and 23 September 2006. Up against 32 other teams from Europe, the USA and Canada, the team achieved the following excellent results:
The team were also very pleased to receive an award “ World Ambassadors to the Fire and Rescue Services”. An award voted for by the organising committee and other teams taking part in the Challenge.
Watch Manager Lee Havey (Training Centre) lead an international barbarian team to victory in the world challenge icebreaker event.
rope rescue team
vehicle extrication
