Far North rescue team begins quest for Australian title
PORT DOUGLAS
THE Far Northern Region combo road crash rescue team have begun their Victorian quest to be crowned the best rescue team in the country.
Twenty teams from all over Australia, New Zealand, and Asia will compete in the Australasian Rescue Challenge in Warragul on the 24-29th July.
The FNR team is made up of six Firefighters from across five stations from the Port Douglas, Cairns and Mareeba areas that have come together as one of only two crews in QLD chosen to compete.
Team Leader and Port Douglas Fire Station Captain Clayton Vladich said that since the team began training together they have really gelled as a unit.
“The team is doing exceptionally well. Our teamwork and communication has increased tenfold” he said.
The Rescue Challenge will be held over three days, comprising of three 30 minute tests, where mock road crash scenarios are set up challenging the team to release the trapped occupants in the most systematic and safest ways possible.
The challenges will be scored by judges from all over the world who will rate the team’s skills in the technical, medical, and leadership categories.
Training every weekend for the last seven months in preparation for the competition has allowed the group to hone their very specific skills and techniques, allowing them to extract casualties from vehicles more effectively and efficiently in their roles as emergency services officers.
Vladich said the training had been extremely beneficial and has greatly improved their ability to react to road accidents and emergency situations.
“The training has enhanced our capabilities and service to the community” he said.
This will be the Far Northern teams first time competing but Vladich has ‘high expectations.’
“Other teams have been competing for up to ten years, but we will hold our own,” he said.
The Far Northern Team will be representing the 22,000 Auxiliary Firefighters across the state and will be up against Permanent Fire Crews.
Vladich said there has always been a healthy rivalry between the Permanent Fire Crews and Auxiliary Fire Crews, and having the opportunity to perform amongst the best is a huge compliment.
The members of the FNR Combo Road Crash Rescue Team are:
- Team leader - Clayton (Ditch) Vladich, Port Douglas Fire Station (QFES)
- Technical - Nick Bloomfield, Gordonvale Fire Station (QFES) and Adam Spinelli, Mareeba Fire Station (QFES)
- Safety and Safety Medic - Michael Bryce, Mareeba Fire Station (QFES) and Renae Price, Cairns Fire Station (QFES)
- Medics - Shaun McGill, Cairns South Fire Station (QFES) and Kate Heure, Mareeba Ambulance Station (QAS).
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