Action-packed Invitational showcases first responder excellence

Palm Beach State College is the leading educator of first responders in Palm Beach County. To date, approximately 8,400 police officers, firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) have graduated from the College’s Public Safety program.

Throughout the year, PBSC hosts various events in partnership with public safety agencies. One of the most popular events is the PBSC Invitational, an annual competition that brings first responders together to demonstrate their abilities, compete against their peers and learn new skills in a cooperative environment. 

The PBSC Invitational, returned for its third year from April 28 to May 3, drawing more than 50 teams and over 300 competitors from across the U.S., Canada and even Chile. Hosted at PBSC’s Lake Worth campus and 143,000-square-foot Public Safety Training Center, the Invitational pushed teams through four challenging simulations: advanced life support, rope rescue, vehicle extrication and rapid intervention.

These real-world scenarios weren’t just about competition, they were a platform for learning, collaboration and showcasing elite skills in front of fellow first responders and the public. PBSC’s own students stepped into critical roles as victims, helping make the experience as realistic as possible.

“Each year, this event gets more impactful, and this year really set a new standard,” said David Hamel, PBSC Fire Recruit Director. “We saw an incredible level of skill, teamwork and dedication from every team. We’re proud to bring the public safety community together in such a meaningful way, and we’re already looking ahead to see how we can make next year even better.” 

Beyond the competition, the Invitational is a valuable opportunity for participants to learn from other public safety agencies and bring those skills back to their departments. After completing advanced training at PBSC in 2018, Freddy Riquelme Moreno, captain of the First Company of Firefighters of Collipulli, Chile, was thrilled to return to the College to compete in the Invitational. “This event allows us to bring back new knowledge and techniques that we can apply in Chile. It’ll help us improve our response time, working more safely and more efficiently,” he said.

Juan Marcelo Venegas Soto, who has been a firefighter for 28 years in Coronel, Chile joined the Collipulli team for the competition. Although he works at a different fire department, he saw the Invitational as a unique opportunity to collaborate. He’s learned new techniques to make rescues more effective, but for him, the most meaningful part was fulfilling a dream: competing in the U.S.

Education was a focus throughout the event, with several public safety workshops and lectures led by subject matter experts. Topics ranged from cutting-edge rescue techniques to mental health, presented by organizations such as the North American Vehicle Rescue Association (NAVRA), Florida RIT Operations Group (FROG) and Elevated Safety. 

The Invitational also served as a platform to highlight the resources and facilities of the College’s Public Safety program and to reinforce its strong relationships with public safety agencies, which employ PBSC graduates. For students and recent alumni, the event offered a valuable opportunity to see classroom lessons come to life.

Recent PBSC EMT/Firefighter graduate Kaylon Smith, who volunteered at the event, found the vehicle extrication competition to be the most impressive. “Watching these teams from all over the world competing is showing me techniques and tools that we learned about in our textbooks,” Smith said. “It’s been amazing. I’m enjoying every second of it.”

“You can show up on an accident on I-95 and have two departments there at the same time. They have to be able to integrate,” Siciliano said. “That’s why these types of events are so important and sometimes it inspires firefighters to become leaders.”

And the winners are:

Extrication Competition 
Presented by North American Vehicle Rescue Association (NAVRA)

Standard
First Place: Tallahassee Fire Department
Second Place: Largo Fire Rescue
Third Place: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue

Complex
First Place: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
Second Place: Largo Fire Rescue
Third Place: Tallahassee Fire Department

Rapid
First Place: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
Second Place: Tallahassee Fire Department
Third Place: Palm Beach County Fire Rescue

Overall Standings
First Place: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
Second Place: Largo Fire Rescue
Third Place: Tallahassee Fire Department

Best Overall
Incident Commander: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
Technician: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
Medic: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue

Panther EMS Challenge
Presented by PBSC's Public Safety Department
First Place:  Palm Beach County Fire Rescue
Second Place: Broward Sheriff Office Fire Rescue
Third Place: Margate Fire Department

Rapid Intervention Crew/Team (RIC/RIT) Competition
Presented by Florida RIT Operations Group (FROG)

First Place:  Palm Beach County Fire Rescue - Team 1
Second Place: Palm Beach County Fire Rescue - Team 2
Third Place: Largo Fire Rescue

Rope Rescue Challenge
Presented by Elevated Safety 

First Place: Central Florida Tourism Oversight District
Second Place: West Palm Beach Fire Department - Team 1
Third Place: West Palm Beach Fire Department - Team 2

View event photos from the PBSC Invitational in the Flickr album by clicking the event link.

Invitational Day 1    |    Invitational Day 2    |    Invitational Day 3    |    Invitational Day 4    |    Invitational Day 5