Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters (FRNSW) from Wollongong can now boast of having among the world’s best rescue crews after claiming first place in the technical category at the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO) Challenge.
Alongside FRNSW crews from Broken Hill and Region South, their skills were put to the test over the four-day event in Adelaide, where they had to perform a number of complicated rescues on mock patients and respond as if the simulations were the ‘real deal’.
In the ‘Technical Team’ category, the Illawarra-based crew proved too good for second-placed Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Toowoomba and the third-placed Country Fire Authority’s Werribee crew (Victoria).
Each of the 23 teams, including crews from across Australia, England and Hong Kong, competed across six specialist skills categories while also vying for overall top spot.
FRNSW Wollongong also placed third in the ‘Controlled’ category and a highly respectable fifth overall.
FRNSW Broken Hill came third in the ‘Immediate’ category while their Region South counterparts also proudly represented the agency.
ARRO President and FRNSW Deputy Commissioner – Field Operations, Jeremy Fewtrell, said teams greatly benefited from the symposium, workshops and competitions.
“The information and experiences they have gained over the four-day event are invaluable and will undoubtedly benefit them in their day-to-day firefighting roles,” Deputy Commissioner Fewtrell said.
FRNSW Assistant Commissioner – Regional Operations, Cheryl Steer, said “it was great to see such highly professional and engaged firefighters in action, working well alongside each other and emergency services colleagues.
“Not only have they demonstrated their commitment to continuous improvement, they now want to share what they’ve learnt with other platoons and stations across the state.”
The full results of the ARRO Challenge will be published to the ARRO website in coming days: https://arro.org.au/
