New ranking for seven promoted airport firefighters |05 August 2023
Group photo of the newly promoted officers with the general manager of Airport management and AFRS management team
The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) recently promoted seven firefighters in a special ceremony held at the Fire Station located at the Seychelles International Airport.
As the Authority strives to continue to deliver service excellence by continuously elevating its security and safety standards, the promotion comes after the officers had met the set requirements to ascent to the new rankings.
The seven officers promoted are all long-serving staff of the authority, ranging from 10 years up to 26 years. They have all been exposed to a wealth of training, earning them international accolades and certification, such as in Aviation Firefighting and Rescue and Inshore Rescue Boat Handling and Sweeper Operations, among many others.
The promotion was for two different ranks – Leading Firefighter and Section Leader. The three firefighters promoted to Leading Firefighters are Alister Morgan, Jerry Labrosse and Loutherd Amblavaney. The remaining four promoted to Section Leaders are Randy Victorin, Kevin Sinon, Robin Leon and Cyril Antoine
In attendance at the ceremony were the general manager for Airport Management, Colin Chang-Tave and the Chief Fire Officer, Bernard Henriette, in the presence of close relatives and colleagues of the seven officers.
In his opening remarks, Mr Henriette noted that it was with much pride that they celebrate the achievements of the seven newly promoted firefighters. “This attests to their sheer determination to move forward in a career that bespoke and embodies service before self.” Mr Chang-Tave noted that the seven officers had shown great responsibility and perseverance in delivering their duties and their promotion represents the next natural step in their career and professional development, which is at the core of SCAA’s values.
The Airport Fire and Rescue Services (AFRS) has as primary objective to save lives in case of an aircraft accident. The officers go through specialised training to ensure that they can react immediately following an aircraft accident or incident, or at any time during rescue operation, including suppression of cabin fires or rescue of aircraft occupants. All officers are trained to ensure the airport meets the requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) when it comes to fire and rescue services following an incident. Their presence at the international airport and Praslin airport is therefore critical in ensuring safe operations, at all times.
The promotion of the firefighters is an important step in ensuring that within its structure, the AFRS has an adequate spread of cadre to react effectively when there is an accident.
SCAA currently employs a total of 87 firefighters located at the Seychelles International Airport and Praslin Airport. The Authority owns a total of six fire tenders, two ambulances and four sea rescue vessels. With such manpower and resources, the AFRS is well equipped to handle an aircraft which falls under category 10. At present, the largest aircraft landing at the Seychelles International Airport falls under category 9. Nevertheless, in a bid to bolster its security and safety level, SCAA will soon be acquiring additional fire tenders with purchase expected by end of September, and will continue to invest in more trainings for its staff.
Contributed
