Between 19 and 23 October 2016, two Luxembourgish rescue teams, Dudelange’s and Mamer’s centres d’incendie et de secours, participated in the World Rescue Challenge (WRC) which took place in Curitiba, Brazil.
During the Rescue Challenge, rescue teams from 20 different countries took part in rescue simulations for car accident victims lasting 10, 20 or 30 minutes according to the complexity of the situation. The World Rescue Challenge’s approach focuses on the individual, its aim being to give rescue units greater knowledge in the context of saving the lives of car accident victims by applying a method focused on the safety of the individual.
The WRC is not strictly a competition, but rather a learning event which allows participants to share their experiences and rescue techniques.
Additionally, there is the Trauma Challenge which, unlike the Rescue Challenge, includes different accident scenarios (falls, burns, electrocutions, etc.) The team is composed of two paramedics who must examine and treat one or two victims in the space of 10 minutes.
The Centre d’incendie et de secours de Dudelange team participated in the Trauma Challenge for the first time as part of a world championship. The team came first place in the Best Trauma Team- Developmental category. As such, Luxembourg has claimed victory for the third consecutive year in this category with three different teams.
In terms of general ranking, the paramedics from the Centre d’incendie et de secours de Dudelange came in 4th place and the Centre d’incendie et de secours de Mamer came 11th.
During the reception organised in honour of the teams, the Minister of the Interior, Dan Kersch, congratulated the Luxembourgish teams for their excellent results. He highlighted that the participants in the World Rescue Challenge represented all emergency services staff, be they voluntary or professional, for their dedication to helping others and their desire to constantly improve their skills.
The Minister of the Interior insisted on the need to possess high-quality training and reaffirmed his desire to modernise and optimise the training offered to members of the emergency services in Luxembourg.
Photo by MINT.
