Azorean firefighters to represent Portugal in World Trauma Championship in France
Three teams of Azorean firefighters, two from Praia da Vitória and one from S. Roque do Pico volunteers, will represent the Region and Portugal in the World Rescue Challenge to take place in La Rochelle, France, between September 12 and 15.
The three Azorean teams, each consisting of two members and a coach, have qualified for this international competition through the overall scores achieved in the National Trauma and Extrication Championship that took place in May on Praia da Vitória, Terceira Island.
At the time, team B and team A of Praia da Vitória Humanitarian Association of Volunteer Firefighters finished as champion and runner-up, respectively, while the team of S. Roque do Pico Humanitarian Association of Volunteer Firefighters came in 3rd place; all competed in the "Trauma" category.
Besides the results already achieved this year, among the participation in various events, team B of Praia da Vitória Volunteer Firefighters became world champion in 2017 in Romania, while team A of the same department came in 2nd place in the World Trauma and Extrication Championship that was held in 2018 in South Africa.
In turn, the team of São Roque do Pico Volunteer Firefighters won 3rd place in the Triangle Islands Trauma Championship (Faial, S. Jorge and Pico) that took place this year in Horta.
For the President of the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service (SRPCBA), the participation of three Azorean teams in the world’s largest global competition “is already a source of pride, regardless of the results to be achieved, and demonstrates the quality of the firefighters assigned to the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service.”
"This qualification and the scores achieved by firefighters in previous competitions evidence the quality of fire brigades' response to the population in critical moments, demonstrating the permanent focus on the training provided by SRPCBA to regional firefighters," stated Carlos Neves.
Organised by the World Rescue Organisation, this year's edition of the World Trauma World Championship involves nearly three hundred participants from 16 countries, being considered the largest international event held in a simulated environment.