The East Otago combined road-crash rescue team recently won the 2024 United Fire Brigades’ Association (UFBA) National Road Crash Rescue Challenge, held in Feilding.
Team lead medic, Port Chalmers station officer and Dunedin Airport fire station senior firefighter Will Hall, said it was the first time that a team coming from south of the Waitaki River had won the national competition.
"We were stoked. It’s one of the best things we’ve ever done.
"It ranks right up there with actually saving lives in real-life situations."
He said the six-man team, made up of members of fire brigades in Palmerston, Waikouaiti, Dunedin, Port Chalmers, Waitati and Mosgiel, was put through its paces in several "very life-like" scenarios during the competition.
They had to race against the clock to extricate and treat patients in simulated road crashes while being scored on their techniques.
It provides a unique learning opportunity to practise rescue and medical response skills in true-to-life scenarios.
There are three surprise scenarios — controlled, time critical and entrapped.
The team won the controlled-rescue category, was third in the time-critical category, fourth in the entrapped-rescue category, and first overall.
The Road Crash Rescue Challenge has become one of the UFBA’s most important events, mirroring the increasing number of road incidents volunteers are being asked to attend.
Mr Hall said the win provided a "far-reaching confidence boost" to local emergency services crews.
"It has a cascading effect. All the people we work with in our day jobs and volunteer brigades all benefit from our experience and draw off it as well.
"It has a wider effect, not just on ourselves, but on our peers."
Now the team is beginning a long fundraising project, aimed at getting them to Sydney, Australia, where they will represent New Zealand in the World Championships in mid-2025.
"There will be a lot of sausage sizzles, cheese roll-making and quiz nights ahead."
2024 UFBA National Road Crash Rescue Challenge results. —
Controlled rescue: East Otago, 1; Mossburn, 2; Rolleston, 3.
Entrapped rescue: Opunake, 1; Hawera, 2; Wanaka, 3.
Time-critical: Milton, 1; Mossburn, 2; East Otago, 3.
Overall: East Otago, 1; Rolleston, 2; Mossburn, 3.
