13 firemen leave for advanced training in South Africa |05 November 2016

Thirteen firemen of the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) leave Seychelles tomorrow to follow an intensive firefighting training in South Africa.

They received their travel documents from the chief fire officer Andre Morel at the agency’s New Port base on Monday.

The training, to be held at the Emergency Training Solutions (ETS) in South Africa over a period of eight days, is expected to upgrade the knowledge of the staff in firefighting, according to Mr Morel.

The trip, which includes airfare, training, accommodation, transportation and allowance, costs around R600,000.

Mr Morel said the firemen who will be following the training, are already qualified in basic firefighting but due to the lack of local resources we are unable to conduct advanced training here.

“Usually we bring in instructors from South Africa or elsewhere but since this type of training cannot be held here as we do not have the required facility, we have to send them overseas,” he said.

He said he expects those going on the training to share their knowledge with other staff when they return in mid November.

Nine of the men are from Mahé, two from Praslin and two from La Digue.

Mr Morel stated that the agency currently employs 169 staff but more is still needed as the manpower is not enough for the whole of Seychelles.

The SFRSA is interested in candidates who are between the ages of 17 and 30, physically healthy and fit for the job.