Best of the best volunteers named at NSW RFS State Championships

The Oakville Alpha team from the Hawkesbury has been awarded the title of Junior Champions.

The teams excelled at a number of demanding, real life challenges across the two day event, showcasing their firefighting, team work, leadership and problem solving skills on land, on water and in the air.

NSW RFS Fire Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons congratulated all teams on their achievements.

"It's been a very competitive weekend, designed to test and hone the skills of our volunteers and Dubbo Headquarters and Oakville Alpha have shown they are among the best of the best.

"The Championships have featured challenging and life-like scenarios, ranging from responding to fire incidents, dealing with motor vehicle accidents and firefighting skills.

"Once again, our volunteers have shown incredible professionalism, with the scenarios showing the versatility of our members.

"Port Stephens has provided a fantastic backdrop for this event, especially with an exercise where crews had to respond to a 'sinking boat' and put out a fire on shore."

Overall winners at the NSW RFS State Championships were:

• Seniors – Dubbo Headquarters (1st), Jindera (2nd) and Castlereagh Alpha (3rd)
• Juniors – Oakville Alpha (1st), Gundagai (2nd) and Tumut (3rd).

The next NSW RFS State Championships will be held in 2014 in Pambula, it was announced.

The State Championships are supported by Principal Partner Gilbert and Roach Huntingwood, who provided the major prize of a brand new Isuzu D-Max 4x4 crew cab ute to be used as a community support vehicle by the Dubbo Headquarters Brigade during their reign.

The NSW RFS Association (RFSA) and Sasgar Fire and Rescue are both proud Major Partners of the NSW Rural Fire Service State Championships.

Photos from the event are available for download from www.flickr.com/nswrfs