Northamptonshire firefighters win big at latest Firefighter Challenge event

Last year saw the team and some of its individual members pick up silverware at both the Welsh and British Firefighter Challenges.

And this year proved no exception, with the team – which included Stef Douglas, Ronnie Sherratt, Paul Webb and Aaron Childs – bringing home the Silver medal in the team relay event.

There was also individual success, as Aaron (Gold), Paul (Silver) and Stef (Bronze) all secured medals for their performance in their respective age groups.

The event, which was held in Swansea on Saturday (June 3), also provided an excellent opportunity to warm up for the biggest event of the year, the British Firefighter Challenge, which will be held in Manchester at the end of July.

The Firefighter Challenge effectively acts as an obstacle course made up of different firefighting techniques, including running a hose reel and dragging a mannequin.

Stef Douglas said: “There were 22 Services competing at the Welsh challenge, and there were hundreds of locals cheering us on. It was an amazing day with an incredible atmosphere.

“We haven’t stopped training since last year’s events, but we’ve ramped up the preparation recently.

“It’s brilliant to represent the Service. We’ve got some long-standing competitors such as Aaron, but the rest of us are fairly new to it.

“It really helps with the fitness that you need for the job, and the challenges all relate to tasks you will do at incidents.”

The current team includes Aaron, Paul, Ronnie and Stef, as well as Dean Keeber, Deb Ashmore, Henry Sleight and Lee Brown.