The event, running yesterday and today at Tulloch Park, has 104 firefighters competing from throughout New Zealand, split into 33 teams.
President of the United Fire Brigades’ Association of New Zealand Jeff Manson said the two-day event was a way of testing and celebrating the skills of firefighters across the country.
"It’s the accumulation of the season that we do with waterways, which is firefighting skill.
"It’s testing skill levels with our firefighting, aspects of the water working we do with fire brigades and simulating what we’d be doing on the fire ground itself," he said.
Mr Manson said these competitions were important for the growth of firefighters.
When asked about the quality of competition, Mr Manson said he was impressed by what he had seen so far.
"[The quality is] extremely high. The competition this year I believe will be the tightest we’ve seen for many years, with so many teams at the top level," he said.
Wet weather had buffeted the competition yesterday morning with torrential rain, but Mr Manson said firefighters needed to be ready, rain or shine.
Mr Manson said he was thankful for the hospitality, and the support from Fire Emergency New Zealand.
"We’re grateful for the support Fenz give us for the challenges, and how wonderful Mataura has been as a host, the community themselves, just making everyone feel welcome," he said.
