A team of six members from Hawkesbury SES travelled to Hamilton, New Zealand to represent NSW State Emergency Service in the 2017 Australasian Rescue Challenge.
The rescue challenge was held over four days in July, and combined competition with symposium and workshop activities so the teams can hear and see the latest techniques and equipment from suppliers and industry experts.
The Hawkesbury team underwent a series of trauma and road crash extrication exercises with critical time pressures and some interesting challenges preventing easy access and release of trapped "patients".
They competed against emergency services teams, including Fire and Rescue, from across Australia, New Zealand and even Hong Kong.
Even though the Hawkesbury team didn't place in the top three, they performed well in a field of very highly trained and skilled rescuers.
The team was accompanied by the SES Commissioner Mark Smethurst, Sydney Western Region Controller Peter Cinque and Hawkesbury Local Controller Kevin Jones.
“I am proud of the efforts of our competing team and the competition is a valuable experience that we translate back to improving how we work on the road at home,” Mr Jones said.
“Part of the deal for our team is to come back from the competition and share the lessons learned with the rest of the rescue teams throughout New South Wales SES.
“This will take the form of YouTube videos and other web products as well as practical workshops.”
