International Road Rescue Challenges Good for Firefighters

Media Release
26 June 2011

International Road Rescue Challenges Good for Firefighters, Good for New Zealand

Twenty-four firefighter crews from eight countries will be in Wellington from 14 to 17 July to compete in the Australasian and World Road Rescue Challenges – an event designed to test their skills in the science of rescuing people injured in motor vehicle crashes, and raise public awareness of the global problem of road death and injury.

New Zealand will be represented by teams from Morrinsville, Whitianga, Greytown, Feilding, Hawera, and Rolleston.

The Road Rescue Challenge has rapidly gained traction with firefighters worldwide as road crash fatalities and injuries continue to rise globally – the World Health Organisation predicts that it could rank third among causes of death and disability by 2020.

“For the teams that compete, winning is a bonus,” says George Verry, Chief Executive Officer of the United Fire Brigades’ Association. “But the real focus is learning and refining their skills so that when they return home, they are better equipped to respond to the unpredictable range of road crash scenarios they see in real life.”

“Volunteer firefighters are first on the scene in most accidents that occur in New Zealand. The Fire Service provides good training in vehicle extrication, and these challenge events give firefighters the extra practical experience that enables them to minimise the distress of accident victims on the roads, and get the patients on their way to the hospital quickly.

“The advantages to the country of the rescue services provided by fire brigades are huge. Investing in emergency preparedness is good for the overall wellbeing of our citizens, and has significant financial advantages – it’s been shown that hospital stays and rehabilitation time are considerably reduced when the rescue effort is quick and efficient.”

Volunteer fire brigades attend approximately 73% of all rescue, emergency, and medical calls, including over 3,000 motor vehicle accidents each year. The Road Rescue Challenge was created to promote the sharing and application of emergency rescue and medical techniques and practices to help fire rescue crews save lives, reduce incidence of disability and dramatically improve long term outcomes.

The Challenges had previously been planned to take place in Christchurch, but after the February Earthquake, were moved to Wellington. The UFBA is hosting the event with support from the New Zealand Fire Service, the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO), and the World Rescue Organisation (WRO). Holden is the primary sponsor, and has donated 60 of the 140 cars that will be used to create scenarios for the events of the Challenges.

Statistics: Road Crashes by the Numbers
Volunteer fire brigades in New Zealand attend approximately 73% of all rescue, emergency, medical call incidents including over 3,000 motor vehicle accidents each year. (Source: NZFS)

Research shows that worldwide there is one road trauma fatality every 26.9 seconds and that for every road fatality in developed countries there are three life-long disablements, 10 major trauma patients requiring surgery and 30 cases requiring medical care. (Source: ARRO)

Today 3205 people will die as a result of a road collision. That's as many as would be killed in eight Jumbo Jet crashes. (Source: WRO)

In addition to the 1.2 million people killed each year on the world's roads between 20 - 50 million are estimated to be injured. (Source: WRO)

World Heath Organisation projections indicate that by 2020 road traffic injuries could rank third among causes of death and disability, ahead of such other health problems as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Road deaths cost the global economy $518 billion each year.

The Challenge Format
The challenges are a series of three scenario events: Entrapped Rescue, Controlled Rescue and Immediate Rescue. Each scenario gives crews the opportunity to act independently and to explore various techniques, skills and innovations that may lead to better rescue outcomes. Competitors are also required to attend a learning symposium and undertake additional training in a workshop as part of the event.

Each team consists of five members, the team leader, a medic, two technical rescue personnel and one person responsible for operational support. A team of international assessors observe and assess Incident Command and Management, Medical and Technical Rescue.

To date there have been ten WRC`s which have been held in Australia 1999, Scotland 2000, South Africa 2001, the Czech Republic 2002, Canada 2003, England 2004, New Zealand 2005, South Africa 2006, Spain 2007, Wales 2008 and Germany 2009.

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