On Saturday, 1st November, a team of four RAF cadets and a team of four Army cadets attended the National First Aid Competition at Bury Fire and Rescue Centre.
Throughout the day, cadets were challenged with a range of realistic and high-pressure first aid scenarios. They were tested both individually and as a team, demonstrating their ability to stay calm, assess situations quickly, and deliver effective first aid.
In the individual tasks, cadets dealt with a variety of incidents, including casualties who had:
- Fallen down stairs and suffered a severe ankle sprain
- Cut their hands with a knife
- Burned themselves with a firework
- Embedded a piece of glass from a broken cup
Each cadet had four minutes to assess, treat, and call for appropriate help.
The team task simulated an explosion in the workplace, involving multiple casualties with injuries such as:
- Severe bleeding to the upper leg
- Head injury with concussion
- Severe burn to the forearm
Teams were given eight minutes to manage the scene, treat the casualties, and complete an accurate handover when the ambulance arrived.
Both teams performed exceptionally well. The RAF team secured first place among the guest teams, while the Army section achieved second place among the CCF teams, earning an invitation to return on Sunday 2nd November for the final round.
On Sunday, the cadets once again arrived at Bury Fire and Rescue Centre ready to compete against the Army Cadet Force, Combined Cadet Force, Sea Cadet Corps, and other top guest teams. Although they didn’t place within the top three overall, the experience was invaluable.
This time, the scenarios included a challenging mix of incidents, such as:
- Dog bite
- Stroke
- Hypoglycaemia
- Cyclist fall with head and potential neck injury
The team event presented even more complex casualties, including:
- An unresponsive casualty
- A casualty experiencing hallucinations
- A casualty suffering from heat stroke
In addition to competing, our contingent also provided nine cadets to act as casualties for the event. They thoroughly enjoyed taking part, having casualty simulation (CAS) makeup applied to them to create realistic and immersive training conditions.
We would like to congratulate the winning team, the 1st Northern Ireland Battalion, and extend our appreciation to all teams who took part.
Our cadets came away with new confidence and practical experience — putting into practice the lifesaving skills they’ve learned through cadets. Reaching the National Finals is a huge achievement and one they will not forget.
We’ll now hand over to a few of our cadets to share their thoughts on the experience…
Cadet Cpl Z Chiasson RAF team IC: Winning the national first aid competition and making it into the tri-service event, where I got to compete against the best of the best, is an experience and accomplishment that I’ll never forget. To do so well shows the strength and dedication of the team over the past two months. It taught me many lessons and skills, from being able to work calmly and quickly under pressure during the 4-minute individual scenarios to coordinating and communicating effectively with the rest of the team as the team leader in the 8-minute team tasks. I walk away from the weekend having learnt skills that not only make me a better first aider and prepare me for future competitions, but also that are transferable to many other activities and shape me as a more well-rounded individual. I couldn’t be happier or prouder of myself and the rest of the team, and I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity and performed so well, representing my school and the CCF.
Cadet Sergeant Major E Park Army team IC: Having won gold at a regional level, me and my team got the opportunity to represent Calday Grange CCF at the national cadet first aid competition. This was a tricky event which required precise knowledge on an array of different scenarios, ranging from heart attacks to a gas explosion. Each cadet was expected to complete an individual casualty as well as participating in a group scenario, meaning everyone had to learn the procedure for all types of casualties. Being team leader meant that I was able to take a step back to watch the cadets that I was working with and appreciate their knowledge of first aid which was incredibly advanced having learnt it in only a short period of time. Achieving silver at nationals was an amazing result, well deserved off our Army CCF team and a result that could only be gained by discipline and hard work.
