Teams from as far north as Wellsford competed in the United Fire Brigades' Association (UFBA) waterway challenge, where UFBA president Jeff Manson said the race to connect and shoot a hose gets "very, very competitive".
"These events can come down to milliseconds between first, second, third, fourth, fifth — its very very tight," Mr Manson said.
There were two tests running at Tulloch Rugby Park, where four-person teams or two-person teams were timed on how long it took to connect and run the hose to then shoot water at the target at the other end of the field.
Sixteen teams competed in each of the two categories.
Mr Manson, who also competes with the Mossburn Volunteer Fire Brigade, said the judges looked for the most minor mistakes, which could add a penalty of seconds to their running time.
"It can be quite simply water not hitting the ground from the standpipe or it can be a millisecond from where the hose is plugged in," he explained.
Mr Manson and his team-mate were national champions in the two-person category for two years running but chose not to defend their title this year.
This year Te Aroha won first place in the two-man competition, Rangiora followed and Wyndham were third.
In the four-man division, Auckland’s West Harbour took the top spot, while Greymouth and Kaitangata were second and third, respectively.
Mataura firefighter Nick Callick, who has been volunteering at the Mataura brigade for 15 years, said the competitions help people to become better firefighters.
"They actually help in the fire grounds ... they help make a better firefighter, running up hoses ... and with familiarisation with the equipment," Mr Callick said.
This year is the Mataura Fire Brigade’s 100th year of serving the community.
Mr Callick said the "camaraderie" as well as meeting different people and going to new places has kept him fighting fires for so many years.
"It’s a family thing, everyone helps everyone out," he explained.
Mr Manson said although firefighters were unpaid, saving the lives and property of their community was worth its weight in gold.
"It’s phenomenal that feeling of when you come back from an incident having helped someone," he said.
"Money can’t buy that."
