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| Across the country, fire firefighters save people from rivers, collapsed buildings and construction cranes |
Firefighters across England are attending almost 100 road traffic accidents every day, according to figures published by the London Fire Brigade.
The capital’s fire crews alone attend an average of 10 road traffic incidents each day, often being called upon to cut casualties out of wrecked vehicles and provide emergency first aid. Across the country, fire crews are going to around 180 different rescues a day, involving firefighters saving people from rivers, collapsed buildings and construction cranes.
Firefighters from across the UK will be showcasing these rescue skills this September at the UK Rescue Challenge London 2011. Crews from different brigades will compete against each other in a variety of complex rescue disciplines including: extrication - cutting out trapped casualties from crashed cars; trauma – providing emergency medical care to casualties at incidents; rope rescue - rope rescues from tall buildings, cranes or bridges and USAR, Urban Search and Rescue - rescues from collapsed buildings or confined spaces.
The event, taking place at London’s Excel between 23-24 September, will showcase how the job of a firefighter is now about far more than just putting out fires. Crews are routinely being called on to perform complex rescues from collapsed buildings and flooded rivers to train crashes and construction sites.
Free of charge and open to the general public, the event will give visitors the chance to see professional firefighters putting their skills into practice to rescue people from crashed cars, unsafe buildings and icy rivers.
London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Steve Hamm, in charge of firefighter training, said:
“Fire crews across the country are attending numerous rescues every day. Putting our firefighters’ skills to the test against other brigades will help make sure that when we are called in to action, we’re as ready as we can be.
“By participating in this event, our firefighters get a chance to hone their skills, test new equipment and try new ways of rescuing people. Different brigades get to learn from each other and this helps improve how we rescue casualties at real incidents. People who come to the event can cheer on their local firefighters and see for themselves what it takes to keep them safe.”
The Brigade will be hosting the event on behalf of UKRO, United Kingdom Rescue Organisation, and will be funded entirely from sponsorship.
