Meath County Fire and Rescue Services recent participation in the Portugese National Challenge.

A Trauma team of two, SubO Paul Colleran (Oldcastle Fire Station) and FF Liam O’Shea (Ashbourne Fire Station) travelled to Lisbon on the 20th of June to represent Rescue Organisation Ireland at the Portuguese National Challenge, Leiria 2014. They were greeted at the airport by a member of ANSD - Portugals equivalent organisation to ROI - and then taken on a tour of some of the Fire Stations in Lisbon, as well as the Fire museum which both found very interesting.

Having then been driven on to Lierra where the challenge was to take place, they were taken out to dinner and shown the Fire Station where they would be sleeping for the next couple of nights.

According to SUBO Colleran, “the next morning we were taken to the football stadium where the Trauma and RTC challenges were taking place. After completing both complex and standard trauma scenarios we were happy with our performance and learned as we watched the Portugese teams compete. The hospitality was second to none as ANSD treated us to dinner that evening and presented us with certificates and a fine keepsake of our visit.

The next morning we had a chance to watch several more scenarios before we were driven back to Lisbon airport for the flight home.

ANSD made us feel very welcome and could not do enough for us, they really are a credit to their brigades and organisation.”

The committee of ROI would also like to thank ANSD for this opportunity and for looking after the Irish team so well.

We look forward to the next World Rescue Challenge (2015) which takes place in Portugal and no doubt will be a fantastic event.

Some photographs from the event can be found here: