Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s Road Traffic Collision Extrication (RTC) team is the fourth best in the world.
The team has just returned from the World Rescue Organisation (WRO) Extrication Challenge in Lanzarote, where they were representing the UK at an event which brought together 36 teams from around the globe to share their knowledge and experience in the desire to improve rescue standards.
The objective of the WRO Challenge is to improve RTC extrication techniques and assist in the development of trauma-related skills of firefighters to enable them to deal successfully with the vast range of casualty-centred incidents.
Teams are assessed on their lifesaving capabilities, technical and command skills in three different road traffic collision-based scenarios.
At the World Rescue Challenge, the extrication scenarios are categorised into three tiers, based on the complexity of vehicles involved, the intricacy of the scenario, and the number and severity of patient injuries.
The team successfully extricated all six casualties within allocated timeframes with injuries including a simulated entrapped pregnant mother, catastrophic haemorrhage and a casualty with a flail chest.
The team competed at the highest standard, placing fourth overall in the World, receiving excellent feedback throughout within a highly competitive field. The stand-out performance came within the Medical category in which the team placed 2nd overall in the World.
The Extrication team this year included Jayne Collins, Pat Murphy, Adam Holder, Dan Gray, Shaun Moser and Adrian Phillips, most of whom began their fire service careers at Ross-on-Wye Fire Station before moving on to other stations and departments.
