Trainee Firefighters Geoff Bannerman and Clare Jamison present a cheque for £3,200 to Gillian Creevy, Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Chiildren.

 

Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) is holding a double graduation ceremony to mark the successful completion of training courses for 32 new Trainee Firefighters and 11 new Regional Control Centre Staff, at the Fire & Rescue Service Training Centre in Belfast. (Friday 15^th August).

 

This is the second graduation of Trainee Firefighters in 2008, with the 29 men and 3 women having completed their 15 week intensive training course at the Fire & Rescue Training Centre.  6 women and 5 men completed their 7 week Regional Control Centre Training at NIFRS Regional Control Centre in Lisburn. 

 

The new Firefighters will now join their colleagues in Fire Stations across Northern Ireland in responding to a wide range of life threatening situations such as fires, road traffic collisions, chemical spillages, collapsed buildings, floods etc.  The Regional Control Centre staff will take their place alongside Firefighters (Controls) in handling 999 calls and mobilising NIFRS resources to respond to emergency incidents. 

 

The Trainee Firefighters also raised £3,200 for the 999 Joint Emergency Services Charity of the Year- Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children (NICFC) - by doing a charity car wash and a number of supermarket bag packs and bucket collections. 

 

“This is a double celebration for Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service and I warmly congratulate our 32 new Trainee Firefighters and 11 new Regional Control Centre staff for completing their intensive training courses and I welcome them to the organisation.  The Graduation is a great opportunity for the Trainees to showcase their new skills through a drill and exercise display involving a fire and a simulated road traffic collision.  The Regional Control Centre Trainees will show how they handle an emergency 999 call and mobilise Fire Crews to an incident and communicate with them via radio throughout the incident.

 

“In order to maintain our standard of providing the best possible fire and rescue service and to protect the community in Northern Ireland we continually strive to ensure that we recruit and train the best people for the job.  Being a Firefighter and working in the Regional Control Centre are rewarding but very demanding jobs and so NIFRS invests heavily in the continuous training and development of both Firefighters and Regional Control Centre staff.   The completion of their trainee courses does not mark the end of their training but the beginning of a career-long path of training and personal development.  I wish all the Trainees the best of luck with their future careers with NIFRS.

 

“I am also delighted that our Trainee Firefighters can present a cheque for £3,200 to Gillian Creevy, General Manager of the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.  For the first time the 4 emergency services – fire, police, ambulance and coastguard –have teamed up to fundraise for a chosen charity throughout 2008.  The NICFC provides an invaluable service to families and young people across Northern Ireland living with cancer and this contribution from the Trainee Firefighters is a fantastic amount to add to the total fundraising effort.” 

 

During their 15 week course the Trainee Firefighters have gained knowledge and practical skills ranging from fire prevention, protection and detection, breathing apparatus, fire hazards, road traffic collisions and community fire safety enabling them to take their place on Fire Stations alongside other Firefighters to serve the local community.

 

The Regional Control Centre Trainees acquired the skills necessary for all aspects of handling 999 calls including emergency call management, mobilising NIFRS resources, digital radio communications and incident command systems and support.