FIRE SERVICE RELATED
Firestyle
Officially Sponsors
the British Firefighter Challenge
The British Firefighter Challenge 2016
took place on Saturday 30th July at
the Jubilee Campus of Nottingham
University. The one day event saw
over 70 operational firefighters from
all over the world taking part, from
countries including; Germany, Austria,
Croatia and even Kuwait.
The representing English fire and
rescue services were Suffolk, London,
Merseyside, Humberside, Hertfordshire,
Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and
Nottinghamshire. The event raised
money for The Fire Fighters Charity.
Firefighters competed in a series of
operational tasks, which included;
stair running, hauling aloft, forcible
entry techniques, hose running,
equipment carrying, and a casualty
race. Finishing times ranged from
the winning time of 2 minutes and
44 seconds by German competitor
Joachim Posanz, to just over 7
minutes.
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The idea for the British Firefighter
Challenge started when a group
of British firefighters attended
the European Championships of
the Toughest Firefighter Alive in
Hannover, Germany back in June
2015. After many competitors
had expressed their desires for
a competitive UK event, talks
ensued.
Watch manager Kevin Ruane MBE
from the Nottinghamshire fire and
rescue service was Team GB coordinator, and following discussions
with Team GB members, promptly
decided to move forward with the
event.
The organisational team
consisted of Ken Ruane and Chris
Trendowicz from Nottinghamshire
Fire and Rescue Service, John
Gregory from Leicestershire
Fire and Rescue Service, and
Michael Joseph and Rob Budge
from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue
Service. They set about planning
the event as a major international
competition to meet the high
standards demonstrated to them at
a number of other locations around
the world.
All equipment was generously gifted
towards the event from major fire
service equipment companies,
including; specialist forcible entry
machines custom made from
blueprints, drill dummies, pumps and
hoses, and breathing apparatus
sets. Such generosity was much
appreciated, as the event itself
would never have been able to
run without the support from every
contribution, and the volunteers too.
After the competition, the award
ceremony was held at the Atrium
in Jubilee Campus, and awards
were presented on a Firestyle-clad
podium.