National certification of Civil Protection Training Centre to ensure better training, says Luís Cabral
The Regional Secretary for Health stressed in Angra do Heroísmo the importance of the national certification of the Training Centre of the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service (SRPCBA) on Terceira, considering that it will "provide better training to regional firefighters.
Luís Cabral spoke on the sidelines of a visit to the control courses on "Flashover" and "Flashfire" that are being taught by members of the Lisbon Fire Brigade at the SRPCBA Training Centre. The Regional Secretary stressed that the training of local trainers and the certification of new scenarios "will endow the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service with the autonomy to teach these courses in the archipelago."
"The training courses on "flashover" and "flashfire" are mainly intended to certify the scenarios of the SRPCBA Training Centre on Terceira Island in order to provide this nationally certified course to all firefighters in the Azores," stressed the government official.
The Regional Secretary considered that the certification and training of regional trainers in these areas "represent something that is very important for the Azores" insofar as it will provide a "stimulus to the training of new firefighters in the Region," through those that have become certified trainers.
Luís Cabral highlighted the investment of nearly 70 thousand Euros in the Training Centre, which included the refurbishment of the scenarios, in order to ensure the national certification of training but also the safety of firefighters, thus improving the quality of the equipment available.
On the occasion, the Regional Secretary praised the work of volunteer firefighters in the Region, making a special reference to those who "volunteered to fight forest fires with their comrades in Mainland Portugal, which is also an opportunity to learn from these experiences."