Great result for local heroes

A GROUP of Malaga firefighters have proved themselves to be some of the best in the world when it comes to rescues by coming seventh at Grimpday.
Held in Namur, Belgium, Grimpday draws top rescue teams from all over the world every year to compete to see who is the best when it comes to rescues, and this year a total of 39 competed to win.
Just two Spanish teams, one from Malaga and one from Barcelona, were in the running at the tough competition, which included 10 different tests over two days.
Rescuing a 350-kilo (fake) horse from water, a parachutist stuck dangling between trees and a highline rescue to be done in less than six minutes (the Malaga team took just two minutes 59) were just three of the tests, which 10 teams were unable to finish.
While the top place went to a French team, the local group, which included firefighters from Malaga and Mijas and a climbing instructor from Torremolinos, brought home a very respectable seventh place and are already starting to prepare for next year’s edition.
As team leader Antonio Avila pointed out, the competition serves to better prepare rescue teams for their day-to-day work of saving lives and is a great way to pick up new ideas and techniques from teams from other countries.