The team starts to deal with Friday's rescue scenario in Stirling under the watchful eyes of assessors.

26 August 2008

A scratch team from Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service finished 38th out of the 45 brigades taking part in a crash rescue exercise on Friday.

The United Kingdom Rescue Organisation Extrication Challenge is an annual event designed to showcase and improve firefighters’ skills at road traffic collision scenes.

Firefighters had to use cutting equipment and specialised techniques to rescue a casualty from a road traffic collision scenario staged at the University of Stirling. The top 20 teams competed in a more difficult second-round challenge on Saturday.

The Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service team, containing four last-minute recruits, comprised Steven King and Neil Hosier from Amersham Fire Station, Craig Atkins and Jon Newton from Beaconsfield Fire Station and Kevin Brown and Sam Barton from Chesham Fire Station. Jon was such a late replacement that his only preparation was on the minibus journey to Scotland.

Team organiser Dave Miller from Amersham Fire Station said: “The fact we managed a fairly respectable position with a crew that had practised together only once is a strong reflection of the very high skill levels Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s crews possess in general.

“I was very pleased with the positive feedback from the assessors, who said we were well above average in the command and technical rescue disciplines.

"The team has set a target of gaining a place in the second round next year where it will be able to display its skills in a more complex scenario."