St. John, Antigua, November 19th, 2013 (NODS) - As Antigua and Barbuda continues to build its complement of trained personnel in search and rescue, 32 individuals are engaged in a one-week training course.
Participants at the session are members of the Police and Fire Departments and the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force.
A local six-member team of instructors and one regional trainer is facilitating the course made possible by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) on request from the National Office of Disaster Services (NODS).
The course is covering topics such as safety considerations, building damage assessment, search strategies, pre-hospital care, rescue techniques, and tools, equipment and accessories.
In addition to building local capacity, this training will assist the sub-region in maintaining its search and rescue skills.
Chief Instructor Inspector Reynold Williams from the Fire Department says Antigua and Barbuda as the focal point for CDEMA with responsibility for Anguilla, St Kitts/Nevis, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands will be required to assist those territories when the need arises. “If one of those islands is impacted we will be called upon to respond once we are able to move and we’re not affected”. What we want to do is to have different teams from different organisations so that when we call upon team one and team two they are ready to move”, said Inspector Williams.
The training session is sponsored by CDEMA and the government of Antigua and Barbuda.
Another group of individuals will undergo similar training next week.