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Rural fire service cadets win two events in State Championships
22nd of Sep, 2016 07:40 am

The Northern Tablelands cadet team have come back from the Rural Fire Service State Championships with two trophies.

The team consisted of Shae Raw from Delungra, with Josh Wallbridge, Annaliese Gillett, Kaitlyn Wallbridge and Mikaela Prichard, all from Glen Innes.

It was a very impressive display of skills. - Stephen Prichard

They won the rural remote response event and the missing person event.

The rural remote response scenario demanded the crew respond to a fire on a remote property.

The details they were given were unclear and conflicting, so the team needed to be ready for anything.

The cadets had to overcome obstacles to reach a car alight with an injured person laying beside the car.

The crew attacked the car fire while providing first aid to the patient.

Once the patient was treated and removed from danger, the car fire was extinguished and all equipment was packed up.

Raging river: as part of the missing person scenario the cadets had to pretend to cross a flooding river to get to a burning shed

“It was a very impressive display of skills and fire ground leadership by the Northern Tablelands cadets,’’ proud dad and district officer Stephen Prichard said.

The team consisted of Shae Raw from Delungra, with Josh Wallbridge, Annaliese Gillett, Kaitlyn Wallbridge and Mikaela Prichard, all from Glen Innes.

Their second event, the missing person scenario, saw a triple 0 call received from a farmer saying that his old machinery shed has been hit by lightning and that one of his children was missing.

Crews had to work together to locate the missing child while at the same time providing fire protection.

The cadets combined with a senior team to complete a variety of tasks to locate and protect the missing child.

The cadets were challenged by obstacles as they provided fire protection while the senior team located the child in the smoke filled machinery shed.

A total of 12 NSW cadet teams were selected from all over NSW to compete in championships held at Narrabri on September 16-18.

Despite the wet weather, the Narrabri showground held up to provide a great venue.

Mr Prichard said the cadets displayed a very high standard of firefighting skills, teamwork, fireground communications and determination  to complete each event, despite each event demanding a great deal of physical fitness.

“It is a credit to these young people that they are taking on the responsibility involved to be a volunteer firefighter, while having a good time along the way,’’ he said.

Hold on, help is on the way: Mikaela Prichard attends to a patient seriously injured by fire.



© 2016 Inverell Times

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