In
8th October 2022

Welcome to the National Breathing Apparatus Challenge
Promoting best practice in Breathing Apparatus, the competition is open to all of the UK Fire and Rescue Services. Finals are held every year at the Fire Service College.
Assessment is carried out using skilled staff from different Fire and Rescue Services from around the UK. From Command and Control to Lead Breathing Apparatus and Fire Behaviour Instructors.
Teams enter from the wide range of roles across the UK Fire Service. We look forward to another great year for NBAC.
Challenge Equipment
Teams will be allocated a fire appliance if required (some teams bring their own) 45 minutes prior to their run-off in order to check the appliance and to stow it for operational readiness taking into account correct manual handling.
The appliance will have:
- 2 x hose reels and branches
- 1 x standpipe key and bar
- 8 x lengths of hose and a main branch
Teams can use their own communications equipment, but if they do so they must provide 2 radios for assessors, if not they will have to use college radios.
All other equipment will be provided by the teams as they seem fit.
2022 Challenge
This year’s event will see teams of 5 firefighters from throughout the UK competing for the best BA Team of 2022 Each team will be faced with a scenario of a property fire, with teams being given 30 minutes to extinguish the fire and rescue any casualties.
The event, which is sponsored by Draeger UK and supported by the Fire Fighter Charity, promotes best practice and firefighter safety in the following categories:
- Incident Command
- Fire Ground Procedures
- Entry Control
- BA Wearing
All teams will be assessed by National Assessors who specialise in their fields across the UK Fire and Rescue Service. The winners of the challenge will have shown their technical and practical skills and dexterity, as well as knowledge and experience.
Due to the costs incurred by registering places for the challenge, the accommodation and meal, any team cancelling within 28 days of the challenge will not be eligible for a refund.
For further details contact nationalbachallenge@gmail.com.
NBAC Leaflet
Please feel free to download and circulate around your brigade.
Testimonials
Competition
Challenge Guidance
Venue: Fire Service College
Date: Friday 7th – Sunday 9th October 2022
All competing teams are advised meet at the Edinburgh Bar on Friday 7th October 2022 from 19:30 onwards where lead assessors will be available for questions and queries.
The competition will commence at 08:00 on the Saturday morning.
On Saturday evening there will be a formal dining in ceremony where the presentations will take place. This will be black tie or full undress uniform event.
The entry fee of TBC per team will cover the cost of the Accommodation for Friday and Saturday, meals for the Saturday and Sunday morning , silver service meal on Saturday evening for the five team members only. Other personnel and team members’ partners / guests are welcome to attend the dining on ceremony on the Saturday, but there will be an additional charge.
Overnight accommodation for Friday and Saturday night is available for team members and other personnel at the Fire Service College which can be booked though NBAC.
Teams and any guests will need to book and pay the entry fee and accommodation costs directly to NBAC email requests to nationalbachallenge@gmail.com and must include any additional guests. An invoice will then be sent out to you.
Payment of the entry fee and accommodation must be received before the 3rd September 2022 any cancellation after this date will not be refunded.
Challenge Rules
All teams will consist of FIVE personnel and will be assessed in the following areas:
- Command & Control
- Breathing Apparatus procedures
- Fire ground procedures
- Entry control
Each team will be assessed by five assessors:
- 1 x Assessing Command & Control, this assessor must be Sector Competent in, Incident Command and hold the role of at least Watch Commander.
- 2 x Assessing the Breathing Apparatus wearers, and 1 assessing Breathing Apparatus Entry Control procedures. These assessors must be current Brigade Breathing Apparatus Instructors.
- 1 x Assessing general fire ground procedures, this assessor must be an Operational Instructor from a Brigade training centre.
- Three venues have been identified at the Fore Service College as suitable for this year’s Challenge. There will be an independent assessor at each venue.
Challenge Scenario
The team, together with the appliance will make its way to the holding area.
The Incident Commander will be given a turnout slip with the Incident Scenario and some 7.2(d) information.
The Incident Commander will have 1 minute to ask questions, he/she will then have a further minute to brief his/her team.
He/she will then respond to the incident taking into account the speed limit on the Fore Service College fore ground which is 10mph.
Upon arrival, the team will have a maximum of 30 minutes to resolve the incident.
The exercise will be terminated by verbal communication to the Incident Commander and by radio communications to the Breathing Apparatus wearers.
At the end of the 30 minutes, crews will be hot debriefed by the assessors.
Each competing team will receive a generic debrief reports some weeks after the Challenge.
The winning team and holders of the National BA Challenge trophy, will be the team with the highest combined marks.
Please contact nationalbachallenge@gmail.com for any queries
Competition Structure
There are no more than two assessors per discipline from the same Brigade.
No assessor is allowed to assess or be actively involved in the marking process of their own Brigade’s run-off.
The assessing team is made up of varying Brigades and Services to ensure impartiality.
Accommodation Booking
Feedback
Feedback is a valuable process of learning and development in all aspects of work.
The attached documents below provide feedback on key aspects of this year’s competition.
Wall of Fame
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2021 |
West Mids |
“Having been part of a team that reached the National BA Competition at Moreton I can only bare witness to a very professional and well organised competition that promotes best practice amongst crews. It provides crews with the arena to demonstrate their BA skills and fore ground knowledge against other Brigades from all over the country. The environment is controlled and the scenarios realistic.”