The ‘firefighter Olympics’ has been hailed “one of the best rescue events” yet with 65 teams getting pushed to the limit to solve complicated scenarios set up for them.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service hosted the UK Rescue Organisation national event, which saw hundreds of firefighters battle it out.

And the hosts won more medals than any other team with golds for the best team leader in rope rescue and the best medic in the urban search and rescue category event.

It also had a clutch of seven silver and bronze awards in the other categories, which covered trauma, extrication and water rescue.

Animal rescue was also held for the first time.

The event, which ran from September 8-10 at the fire service’s Eastleigh headquarters and included teams from as far afield as Germany and Luxembourg.

UK Rescue Organisation chairman Steve Apter, who is also assistant chief officer for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I am wearing two hats in relation to this event so now I feel doubly proud. It has been really special and reflects the efforts of the team who have worked tirelessly to make this the best challenge yet.

“I am proud of both the way we hosted it and of the way our teams performed. Already the feedback we are getting is incredible.”

Hundreds of people flooded in on the open day to see the “thrilling challenges” while children enjoyed getting to look around a real fire engine and trying to get fire kit on as quickly as possible.

Deputy chief officer Neil Odin said: “We are proud of our teams and the event. It is mainly about learning and developing skills. We look to see if there is anything from the other teams that can make us even better and we know that other services are watching how we do things to help them improve as well.

“We are constantly looking to raise standards.”

London Fire Brigade’s extrication team won the Excelerate People’s Award, which was voted on by their peers and presented by autistic schoolboy Andrew Impey, who has visited almost 1,000 fire stations across the UK as part of a mammoth fundraiser for The Fire Fighters Charity.

The team were so moved by the efforts of the Hampshire schoolboy that they presented it back to him to put in his room which has been decked out like a fire station, complete with pole.

Fire and rescue services that won the prestigious championship awards for best overall teams were South Wales Bridgend for extrication, Leicestershire for rope rescue, Hereford & Worcester A for trauma, Northamptonshire for animal rescue, and Buckinghamshire for USAR. The water rescue crown went to London.