HWFRS among top teams at United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) Festival of Rescue in Birmingham

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service proved one of the top performing Fire Services in the country at the United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) Festival of Rescue, which has just taken place in Birmingham.

They were competing with more than 400 firefighters representing 40 fire and rescue services from across the UK, alongside a guest team from Ukraine. HWFRS fielded teams in the RTC (Road Traffic Collision), Water and Rope competitions as well as providing an experienced team of assessors to help judge the championships.

When the results were in, HWFRS scored highly in the team and individual rankings were as follows:

Extrication: Best Overall Team: 3rd Place;

Ade Phillips – Best Incident Commander (2nd Place);

WC Jayne Collins – Best Medic Category 3rd place.

Rope Rescue: Ff Matt Cox – Best Medic (1st Place).

Water Rescue Best Overall Team category: 3rd Place; WC Simon Gaffney – Best Incident Commander category 2nd place.

The entire HWFRS line up at UKRO was:

• RTC team – Ade Phillips, WC Shaun Moser, Ffs Dan Gray, Pat Murphy, Adam Lockley Holder, WC Jayne Collins.
• Water team – WC Simon Gaffney, CC Dan Beard and Ff Richard Lambden.
• Rope team – CC John Buley, Ff s Neil Mclean, Matt Page, Matt Cox, Ben Cooling.
• Assessors – GC Simon Cusack, SCs Steph Cooling, Jon Scully and Craig Newman.

Area Commander George Marshall, HWFRS’s UKRO team commander, said: “The dedication and professionalism of every member of staff who either put themselves forward to compete, supported the event with logistics or as an assessor, should not be underestimated.

“This type of event showcases to the wider community what the fire and rescue sector delivers with reference to emergency response and allows them to see a glimpse into the professionalism and dedication you give to the profession.

“Both I and all at HWFRS are extremely proud of the results and continue to support our engagement with all UKRO competitions.”