Ranfurly Volunteer Fire Brigade

16/06/2026

14/06/2026

🚒 UFBA National Road Crash Rescue Challenge – Competition Wrap-Up 🚒

The 2026 UFBA National Road Crash Rescue Challenge has come to an end, and what an experience it has been for our team.

On the final day of competition, the team took part in the Entrapped Rescue Challenge. While we unfortunately didn't manage to remove the patient within the 30-minute time limit, the crew performed well throughout the scenario and were very close to having the patient ready for removal when time was called.

The final results are now in, and the Ranfurly Road Crash Rescue Team finished 12th out of 17 teams from across New Zealand.

As a brand-new team competing at our first national competition, we're extremely happy with that result. We are also one of the youngest teams in the competition, with a relatively new group of firefighters coming together to build a Road Crash Rescue Team from the ground up. More importantly, we've come away with a huge amount of learning, experience, and motivation to continue improving. Every challenge highlighted areas we did well in and areas we can work on, helping us build our capability to better serve our community when responding to real-life incidents.

A special mention must go to our Team Leader, Isaac, who stepped in at the last minute to assist the East Otago Road Crash Rescue Team after they found themselves a little short on numbers. We're not saying they needed rescuing before the competition even started, but Isaac certainly kept busy running for two teams all week! 😆

Despite juggling commitments between both teams, Isaac played a key role in helping East Otago through the competition, with the team going on to finish an impressive 5th place overall, a position they have now comfortably held for two years running!

We would also like to acknowledge and thank the Wānaka Road Crash Rescue Team for the support they have provided over the past year. They played a significant role in helping get our team established and gave us the opportunity to compete alongside them at the South Island/North Island Challenge. The experience, guidance, and encouragement they provided helped lay the foundations for where our team is today, and we're grateful for their support.

A huge thank you to the UFBA, judges, actors, organisers, supporters, and all the competing teams for making the event such a valuable experience. Congratulations to all teams who took part.

Most importantly, thank you to our team members and supporters who dedicated countless hours of training and took time away from work, family, and personal commitments to represent Ranfurly on the national stage.

For a first-year team, and one of the youngest teams in the competition, we're proud of what we've achieved. The experience gained this week is invaluable, and we're already looking forward to taking what we've learned, refining our skills, and coming back even stronger next year. 💪🚒

📸 More photos from the week to come.

12/06/2026

🚒 UFBA National Road Crash Rescue Challenge – Day 2 Update 🚒

Another great day of learning and competition for the Ranfurly Road Crash Rescue Team at the 2026 UFBA National Road Crash Rescue Challenge in Feilding.

This morning, our medics Willie McBride and Emma McAtamney took part in another Trauma Challenge scenario, putting their patient assessment, treatment, and teamwork skills to the test under time pressure.

This afternoon, the full team competed in the Controlled Challenge, involving two patients trapped in a vehicle following a crash. One patient had an entrapped limb requiring extrication, while the second patient had serious injuries but was not trapped. The scenario required crews to balance patient care, rescue priorities, and scene management while working safely and effectively under pressure.

The team performed well throughout both challenges and received valuable feedback from the judges. Every scenario provides new learning opportunities that we can bring back to our brigade and community to help improve the service we provide when responding to real emergencies.

A huge thank you to the organisers, judges, actors, and support crews who make events like this possible.

We've attached a short two-minute video showing some highlights from today's challenges.

One more day of competition to go before results are announced tomorrow night. 💪🚒

11/06/2026

🚒 UFBA National Road Crash Rescue Challenge – Day 1 Update 🚒

Today our team competed in the first day of the 2026 UFBA National Road Crash Rescue Challenge in Feilding.

The day began with the Trauma Challenge, where Ranfurly medics Willie McBride and Emma McAtamney competed as a two-person team. The scenario involved a patient who had been cutting firewood and sustained a severe laceration to their left leg and left hand. Similar to an ambulance crew responding to a medical emergency, teams had 10 minutes to assess, treat, and manage the patient.

This afternoon, the full team took part in the Time Critical Challenge. The scenario involved a patient trapped in a vehicle with an entrapped limb. Crews were given 30 minutes to safely free the patient and complete the rescue, while managing a patient whose condition continued to deteriorate throughout the event.

The team received positive feedback from the judges and successfully extricated the patient with just one minute remaining on the clock. Results from today’s events will be announced on Saturday night.

We were also fortunate to have former Ranfurly firefighter Fletcher Dowling come along and support the team. Fletcher is currently based at Linton Military Camp and has recently completed his New Zealand Defence Force basic training. It was great to have him there supporting his hometown brigade.

A big thank you to everyone who has been following our journey and sending messages of support from home.

💪 Two more days of competition to go, with results being announced on Saturday night. Stay tuned for more updates!

📸 Team Ranfurly representing Central Otago on the national stage.

🚒🔥🇳🇿

10/06/2026

10/06/2026

Ranfurly Road Crash Rescue Team are off to the 2026 Nationals in Fielding! Updates to follow over the next few days.

06/06/2026

🔥 Firewood Raffle Winner Announced 🔥

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Sky Tower Challenge Firewood Raffle fundraiser for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand. Your support has made a real difference.

🎉 Congratulations to Dave Keenan, holder of Winning Ticket #193, who has won the trailer load of firewood.

The raffle was officially drawn by Otago Assistant District Commander Bobby Lamont, with Chief Fire Officer W***y Dowling and Deputy Chief Fire Officer Greg Baddock present.

Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets, donated, shared our posts, and got behind the fundraiser. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and will help support an important cause. ❤️

21/05/2026

This weekend we’d like to wish the very best of luck to Isaac Bray from the Ranfurly Brigade and Paul Hart, Josh Murphy, Phil Flanagan, James McKirdy from the Naseby Brigade as they take on the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge at the Sky Tower.

Taking on 51 floors in full firefighting gear and breathing apparatus is no easy task, and we’re incredibly proud to see our local firefighters representing the Maniototo while raising money for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand.

Good luck team — climb hard and enjoy the experience! 🚒💪

12/05/2026

Final push, 10 days to go and Isaac will be climbing up the Auckland sky tower in full firefighting kit.

Raffle will be drawn this week, Message now to purchase tickets!!

🔥 Support Issac Bray – Sky Tower Challenge Fundraiser 🔥

Senior Firefighter Issac Bray from the Ranfurly Volunteer Fire Brigade is taking on the Sky Tower Challenge — racing up the Sky Tower in full firefighting gear to raise funds and awareness for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand ❤️

Every day, 8 Kiwis are diagnosed with blood cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. This cause helps provide vital support to patients and their families during some incredibly tough times.

🎟️ Firewood Raffle
Win 3 Cube of Dry Pine (Delivered within Maniototo)
$4 per ticket

👉 Message the page to purchase tickets

💻 Or donate directly using the link below 👇

https://firefighterschallenge.org.nz/isaac-bray

Every ticket, donation, and share makes a difference. Thanks for getting behind Issac and supporting a great cause! ❤️

10/05/2026

🚒 Otago Southland Provincial Road Crash Rescue Challenge – Milton 2026 🚑

Yesterday, members of the Ranfurly Volunteer Fire Brigade travelled to Milton to compete in the Otago Southland Provincial Road Crash Rescue Challenge, hosted by the Milton Volunteer Fire Brigade.

This year marked only our second year back competing after a long absence without an RCR team, and we’re incredibly proud of how our fresh new team performed throughout the day. The scenarios challenged crews with realistic crash rescues, testing teamwork, communication, medical care, scene management, and technical rescue skills under pressure.

Representing Ranfurly were:
🔸 Issac Bray
🔸 Willie McBride
🔸 Cody Howell
🔸 Bailey Forbes
🔸 Emma McAtamney

We were also fortunate to have Leighton Bray from the Waikouaiti Volunteer Fire Brigade assisting our team this year — a huge thanks to Leighton for jumping in and supporting us.

A massive thank you to the Milton Volunteer Fire Brigade for hosting such a well-run event, and to all the brigades who competed:
🚒 Balclutha
🚒 Mossburn
🚒 East Otago Combined Team
🚒 Whitianga
🚒 Ranfurly

Competitions like this are an awesome opportunity to build skills, learn from others, and strengthen the capability of volunteer brigades across the country. Every scenario provides valuable learning that helps prepare crews for real-life incidents on our roads.

Following the competition, our team has made the decision to continue building on this momentum by travelling to the UFBA National Road Crash Rescue Challenge in Feilding this June. We’re looking forward to gaining more experience, learning from teams around the country, and continuing to develop our skills together. 💪🔥

A huge thank you to everyone involved in organising, judging, acting, and supporting the event throughout the day.