The United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) “Festival of Rescue” will see expert teams of firefighters from 28 UK fire services and three international teams come to Portsmouth and Eastleigh to test their skills across a variety of challenging scenarios. Teams will compete to be the best at vehicle extrication, rope rescue from height, water rescue, and trauma care. There will also be a fire cadets’ challenge and dog demonstration.
Members of the public visiting Gunwharf Quays and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard or walking along the River Itchen* (near Eastleigh Rugby Club) will be able to watch all the action, learning more about the skills and equipment used and cheering on the teams taking part.
HIWFRS Chief Fire Officer, Neil Odin, said,
“Hosting the UKRO Festival of Rescue is a huge honour and we look forward to welcoming our colleagues. Rescue and ‘special service’ calls are now making up a bigger proportion of the total incidents we respond to and UKRO offers a great way for professionals to learn and practice their skills and techniques for these types of incidents, helping us to improve the way that we respond to our communities.
“It is also a great opportunity for the public to see firefighters in action in a safe environment and find out more about what the role involves and to chat with us about staying safe.”
Dan Quin, Vice-Chair of the United Kingdom Rescue Organisation said:
“I am absolutely delighted to be here in Portsmouth to host this year’s Festival of Rescue with the brilliant Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service.
“The United Kingdom Rescue Organisation is at the forefront of advancing professional rescue – supporting and enabling professional rescuers to be the best they can be to protect people. These events aren’t just a brilliant opportunity to compete and catch up with peers that we otherwise may not be able to, but they are also a valuable learning and development opportunity – showcasing the best skills and techniques from across the country. I’m very much looking forward to the challenges and am extremely grateful to our hosts, volunteers and sponsors for their continued support.”
Thank you to Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth Historic Quarter and the Environment Agency and The Hub for providing some fantastic sites for the challenges, including the Spinnaker Tower and Boathouse 4, and to all the sponsors supporting this event in particular our Challenge Sponsors Angloco, ATACC and Silverlake.”
Words from our Challenge sponsors
Allen Prebble, Managing Director at Silverlake Automotive Recycling said: “Silverlake has been supporting Hampshire and IOW Fire & Rescue Service for over a decade, supplying salvage vehicles and the use of our 10-acre site in Shedfield for their training exercises and assessments. When they told us they were hosting the 2024 UKRO Festival of Rescue in Portsmouth, we were 100% ready to help. We are really proud to be sponsors of the Extrication Challenge in Gun Wharf Quay on 27th and 28th September and to be providing over 100 salvage vehicles for the event. This is a fantastic opportunity for the all the teams taking part in the competition to showcase the vital lifesaving work that they do and share best practice. Wishing all the contenders the very best of luck over the two days.”
Alistair Brown, Managing Director at Angloco said: “We are proud to support the UKRO Festival of Rescue, a fantastic event showcasing rescue professionals’ skill and dedication. It’s an honour to contribute to such an important platform for learning, collaboration, and innovation, all of which align with Angloco’s commitment to advancing rescue operations,”
For more information visit our UKRO pages
*Please note
- The extrication event at Gunwharf Quays will involve releasing people who are acting as casualties from cars. This can be noisy and it could be unsettling for people who have experienced a road traffic incident or lost a loved one as a result of one.*
- The Water Rescue event on the River Itchen is on Friday 27 only.