The opening ceremony will take place on the evening of Thursday, 23 August, with challenges taking place throughout Friday and Saturday, 24 and 25 August. A CFOA Road Safety conference will be held in the EMTEC building on the Lincoln University campus on Friday, followed by a conference/sponsor’s dinner at the Doubletree Hilton in the evening. The closing ceremony will be held on the evening of Saturday, 25 August.

The event will be held in the lively heart of the historic and picturesque city, on the banks of the Brayford Pool – a prime location with views across the water to the historic Bail Gate and famous Cathedral – offering easy links to transport, accommodation, fine dining and the city centre.

And, making the most of this unique asset, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue will be the first to offer a water rescue challenge for competing teams as well as demonstrations for visitors on the Brayford Pool.

Teams participating in the event will also compete in extrication, trauma, rope and USAR challenges.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue also plans to make the most of the UKRO 2012 challenge as a way of reaching out to the public.

A friendly open-day atmosphere will prevail, allowing for delivery of fire safety education and a chance for community engagement; the public will be able to observe firsthand the specialised and finely-honed technical skills demonstrated during the challenge.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue is extremely enthusiastic about hosting the event and is looking forward to showcasing the magnificent mixture of modern and historic which makes up the city – as well as their skilled crews, state-of-the-art equipment and high standards of response.

The Service is also currently looking for sponsors for the event; in return for your donation, we will include sponsors’ promotional material in visitors’ packs, include company logos and web links on the official challenge website, offer advertising space at the event and reference your support in media releases.

For further information about sponsorship, exhibiting or supporting the event, please visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/lfr/UKROregister.

Lincolnshire’s enthusiasm for hosting the UKRO 2012 challenge comes hot on the heels of their first-place victory in the two-day European Challenge in Austria.

Lincolnshire competed against 14 other teams, including professionals from Germany, Spain, Luxembourg and Austria.

The first assessment was a scenario they had never practised before – the team was required to complete a rapid extrication, rescuing a casualty in less than 10 minutes.

They were able to get the casualty out in only eight minutes – and used the remaining time to administer casualty care, including building a sun shelter to keep her calm and cool.

Day two found the team faced with a more complicated scenario with 20 minutes to achieve extrication.

The demonstration was so efficient that the Austrian team is now using a recording of the assessment as part of their training strategy.

The close of the competition saw the Lincolnshire team win with a score 20 per cent higher than any of the other competing teams.

Only a week later, Lincolnshire’s RTC extrication team placed 12th in the prestigious United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) challenge.

It was only their fifth national competition and was the first time they’d placed in the top 20.

For more information on UKRO 2012, contact Mary Maggs, Project Lead: Communications and Sponsorship, on 01522 582274, or email Mary.maggs@lincoln.fire-uk.org.