World champions in extrication
Published: 01 September, 2008
Hampshire’s vehicle extrication and trauma care team – which scooped the World Championships at the World Rescue Challenge held in Barcelona last October – has once again proven itself by clinching the most prestigious title at the 2008 World Extrication Challenge (World Rescue Wales) – World Champions.
In the 20-year history of the World Extrication Challenge event, no team has ever successfully retained the title in consecutive years – until now!
The team competed against 32 representative teams from all around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Africa, USA, Canada and most European countries.
Runners up were Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, with Northern Ireland taking third place.
Hampshire firefighters Ian Wadmore, Trevor Griffin, Andy McNamara, and Martin Gritt are now regarded as the Best Technical Team in World, with Jim Hutchen also being awarded the Best Medic in the World accolade.
Commenting on the hotly-contested event, Watch Manager Steve Barrow of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Our focus over coming months will be to coach and mentor the new people to achieve success at the forthcoming rescue events in Stirling, Scotland (UK Nationals) in August, the European Challenge in Munich, Germany, and next year’s World Challenge in Chicago.”
