Mock rescues test skills of firefighters

Teams from East Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire joined colleagues from all over Scotland to act out emergency scenarios.

The event took place at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) National Training Centre in Cambuslang and a dedicated water sports facility in Glasgow.

Crews used their specialist skills to conduct mock road rescues, water rescue and trauma care operations designed to replicate serious emergencies facing frontline responders. The crews were also joined by police officers.

Experienced assessors scored the crews’ performances over the two-day event and awards were given to the top teams.

A team from Ayr won the road traffic collision challenge, which saw crews working to safely rescue trapped casualties from a number of ‘crashed’ vehicles in a difficult emergency scenario within a 20 minutes timeframe.

The trauma challenge included a worker who lost a limb on a live railway line after being struck by a train and another who had collapsed in a chemical factory. Crews were expected to quickly identify injuries and provide emergency treatment and the team from Whitburn in West Lothian was placed first.