A HAMPSHIRE firefighter has had to overcome temperatures of minus 18C, gruelling snow marches and the threat of bears, wolves and coyotes.

Barry Atkins, from Eastleigh Fire Station, was deployed to a forest in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, with a few other members of the UK International Search and Rescue team.

The nine-day exercise was designed to teach the elite firefighters how to deal with extreme cold, develop their survival skills and hone their wide area search capabilities.

Officers took part in a mock exercise where plane crash survivors had wandered off into the wilderness with varying degrees of injury.

Barry, who is a Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service crew manager, said: “The course is billed as extremely challenging and hard work but ultimately very rewarding, and it certainly lived up to expectations.

“There is no doubt that, should a situation like this come in real life, this training would prove invaluable.

“There are also transferable skills that I can take back and apply to other parts of my job and learning I can share with the team in Hampshire.”

The 16 emergency services personnel from across the UK had to put up tents and erect makeshift shelters for accommodation, and chop wood and light fires for warmth.

To make the exercise more challenging, they were tasked with using foliage as part of their bedding and after a night in the tent, had to locate and retrieve their hidden food rations on snow shoes and a sledge.

Barry, who lives in Hedge End, also had to be part of a team carrying out a night search as well as being responsible for maintaining the fire to heat the camp.

To complete the various parts of the scenario, the team had to locate all ‘casualties’ and then start a fire to signal the spotter plane.

The expedition was led by Red Deer County Search and Rescue with Canada’s Civil Air Search and Rescue, which added helicopter deployment to the challenge.