‘Firefighter Olympics’ to be hosted in London
Published: 14 May, 2012
Not only will London host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games this year, but the capital is also set to host the biggest ever international firefighter event – the World Rescue Challenge 2012 (WRC 2012).
The WRC 2012 will be hosted by the London Fire Brigade on behalf of the World Rescue Organisation (WRO) and will take place from Thursday October 18 until Saturday 20 October. It is set to be the most prestigious international competition for fire and rescue services the world has ever seen. The event will be an opportunity for international firefighter teams to showcase their rescue skills and techniques and to compete with other teams from across the globe.
The event, which is free for members of the public, will take place at ExCeL London in east London, which is an Olympic venue. It is hoped that it will attract around 10,000 people including participating teams, members of the public and exhibitors.
World Rescue Challenge 2012 includes the following:
- Extrication challenge - cutting people out of cars
- Trauma challenge - treating casualties at incidents
- Rope rescue demonstration - rescuing people from precarious positions
- Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) - rescuing people from underneath collapsed buildings
- Water demonstration
The challenges provide an opportunity for healthy rivalry between teams, improving performance and highlighting advances in techniques and equipment available to professional firefighters when dealing with incidents.
There will also be a number of other attractions at the event, including the London Fire Brigade community safety area, London’s Fittest Firefighter competition, educational safety programs for school children, conferences and a trade exhibition.
Fire and rescue services are now being offered the chance to take part in the event by entering a team for the competition, attend our conference and exhibition or just to come along to show your support.
For more information, click here
