Azorean firefighters participate in initial intervention course in collapsed structures
The President of the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service (SRPCBA) stated that the first stage of Initial Intervention Course in Collapsed Structures involved the participation of 71 firefighters, covering 10 fire departments in the Region.
"The 71 firefighters took part in the first stage of search and rescue in collapsed structures training, which prepares firefighters to act in situations such as an earthquake or a landslide," said Carlos Neves.
The President of SRPCBA spoke in the context of the second stage of this course, which is taking place until Sunday on the island of Pico. It will provide training to another 36 firefighters from the fire departments of Madalena, São Roque do Pico, Lajes do Pico, Horta, Velas and Calheta.
"The skills acquired during the course will contribute to the evolution and consolidation of the knowledge of our firefighters, especially in the provision of assistance and rescue of victims trapped in collapsed structures, which clearly improves the quality of the assistance provided," stressed Carlos Neves.
With the completion of this second stage, there are a total of 107 firefighters with training in search and rescue in collapsed structures from 13 regional fire departments: Ribeira Grande, Vila Franca do Campo, Nordeste, Povoação, Angra do Heroísmo, Praia da Vitória, Calheta, Velas, Lajes do Pico, Madalena, São Roque do Pico, Horta and Santa Cruz das Flores.
The SRPCBA training plan for this year also includes an intermediate level Intervention course in Collapsed Structures, which is scheduled for late September at the Training Centre pf the Azores Civil Protection and Fire Service (CFPCBA) on the island of Terceira.
“The final goal will be the creation of specialised teams to take action on all the islands and the creation of two search and rescue intervention brigades that will be headquartered on São Miguel and Terceira to promptly respond to any island of the archipelago in case of need," added the President of SRPCBA.
The Initial Intervention Course in Collapsed Structures will be conducted by four SRPCBA trainers who have acquired training at the University of Texas, USA.