MORE THAN 150 firefighters from more than 20 countries will take part in the World Rescue Challenge in Cork this weekend. They will compete to extricate casualties from crashed cars in a series of simulated exercises.
Four teams from Carlow, Longford, Meath and Cork County Council will compete with teams from all over Europe including the UK, France, Spain and Luxembourg and as far away as the US, Russia and New Zealand.
Organised by the World Rescue Organisation, the competition, which began yesterday, is taking place on the North Custom House Quay adjacent to the Port of Cork building close to the heart of Cork city centre.
Rescue Organisation Ireland chairman Phil O’Hare said that each team consisted of five members and a substitute and they would be judged on their performances as they used cutting equipment to extricate casualties from simulated crashed cars.
Mr O’Hare, assistant chief fire officer with Cork City Fire Brigade, said each team would extricate casualties in three categories: rapid, when they would be given 10 minutes to effect a rescue; standard, when they would have 20 minutes and complex, when they had 30 minutes.
Each team would be assessed in terms of casualty care technique and their command control, said Mr O’Hare, who added that 110 old cars had been provided for the challenge by the Cork Metal Company.
The extractions will take place on the North Custom House Quay starting at 8.30pm and running to 5pm both today and tomorrow.
A limited number of places are open to members of the public who want to watch the firefighters in action.