Berry excels at Australasian Firefighters Championship
Published: 21st October 2011
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Commissioner Greg Mullins congratulated teams from fire services across Australia and New Zealand who competed in the Australasian Firefighters Championship in Port Macquarie last weekend.
Berry won second place in the Australasian Firefighter Championships, and Dorrigo won third place.
Fire and Rescue NSW secured all top three places, with Kelso (near Bathurst) winning the title of Australasian Champions.
“I was very impressed by the standard of competition, and the high level of fitness and athleticism of firefighters from across Australasia,” Commissioner Mullins said.
“The skills they showed in these hard-fought events, such as extinguishing a fire in a multi-storey building when every second is critical, have a direct bearing on the work they perform every day to protect the public.”
Commissioner Mullins said he was proud of all the FRNSW teams. The Port Macquarie team, whose fire station hosted the event, won seventh position in a field of 28 teams. It was closely followed by Mudgee (eighth), Coffs Harbour (ninth), and Bega (eleventh).
Every FRNSW team was placed well within the top-half of the highly competitive championships, with Glenn Innes in 13th position and Scarbough in 14th position.
“There was very strong competition from teams from interstate and from New Zealand,” Commissioner Mullins said.
“Our two nations can be proud that they are well-served by competent and highly-skilled firefighters.” The team from Echuca in Victoria won fourth place, and the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade 1 came sixth.
“The smooth running of the Australasian Championships was a credit to FRNSW as the hosts of the event,” he said.
“The countless volunteers and officials, including the current chair of the Australasian Championships, FRNSW Assistant Commissioner Jim Hamilton, all deserve great credit for making the two-day event such a success.”