Fire brigades from all over Victoria will compete in what is known as the “firefighting Olympics“ over the weekend.
The annual Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria state championships kicked off last weekend with the urban junior competition, which saw 1500 people attend.
This weekend will see the other three competitions: the rural juniors and seniors, and the urban seniors.
There will be roughly 45 teams competing in the urban events and 55 in the rural events, Annual Championships Planning Committee chair Alan Davies said.
“It’s a fairly intense competition, plenty of fellowship and plenty of good skills maintenance,” he said.
“Plenty of rivalry amongst our troops, which is really good and they enjoy themselves, they enjoy the fellowship.”
The competition has been running in various forms for nearly 150 years, demonstrating the endurance and reliability of brigades and building teamwork.
“In an emergency situation you have to know your fellow members,” Mr Davies said.
“You need to be able to work effectively with them.
"More importantly it (promotes) leadership, they work in a team. If you work as a team in practice, you work in a team when the action’s on and you’re called to an emergency situation.“
There will be dry events that test agility and flexibility when responding with firefighting equipment, and wet events that demonstrate the fireys’ skills using the equipment.
“There’s plenty of action on the track, and a bit of excitement to go with it,” Mr Davies said.
There is also an exhibition showcasing everything CFA, from services to the equipment firefighters use in all circumstances, which has been visited by lots of local school groups.