Fire fighters of the Fire and Rescue Services Agency (FRSA) who have performed admirably this year have been rewarded.

The best fire fighters for 2013 received their prizes and certificates in a short award presentation ceremony at the Seychelles Trading Company (STC) conference room earlier this week. 

Present were the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joël Morgan, chief fire officer Andre Morel and his deputy Albert Rose as well as other SFRSA officers.

Added to being the best in her unit, Tally Domingue received the best fire officer award. 

Other officers who have been outstanding in their respective units are Winson Laurence, Peter Cherry, Lester Dogley, Densley Telemaque and Graham Bristol.

During the same ceremony, a group of 56 fire fighting and rescue officers who have during the year successfully completed local as well as overseas training courses were also awarded their certificates. 

The officers have been trained locally in English Proficiency, Leadership and Supervision, Telephone Techniques, Report Writing, First Aid as well as Incident Command and Fire Service.

All the courses were delivered by competent local institutions such as Aldec (Adult Learning and Distance Education Centre), University of Seychelles and the Red Cross Society of Seychelles, except for the training in Incident Command and Fire Service which was led by experts from the South African-based Emergency Training Solutions Centre. 

Added to the local courses, two fire officers – Joe Gabriel and Paul Faure – successfully completed a course in Urban Search and Rescue at the Civil Defence Academy in Singapore.

The best performers in the different courses received additional prizes. They are Azron Jean, Cynthia Onezime, Jean-Paul Denis, Joe Gabriel, Paul Faure, Nadim Lucas, and Jason Labrosse. 

Chief fire officer Morel said that the SFRSA’s continuous training programme is in line with its strategic plan 2012-2016 and its specific objective to ensure effective and efficient service delivery. 

“Staff training and development remain top of the agency’s priority list as it is through training and development that staff will enhance their knowledge and acquire new skills and techniques in order to enable them to discharge their responsibilities effectively,” said Mr Morel.

“Through training, we will also create a solid force for the years to come. The society has increasingly high expectations of the agency, and this calls for an agency that is highly professional, efficient, and at the same time responsive to the needs of the community,” he added.

In this regard, Mr Morel asked his officers to seize the opportunities they have to continue their training and to use the skills and knowledge gained to offer better service as is awaited by the country and public. He noted that during the course of 2013, the SFRSA has intervened in more road accidents than before.

He concluded by thanking the fire fighters for their devotion, commitment and discipline and for responding to the agency’s motto which is ‘Desire to serve and courage to act’.
 
He also thanked other fire fighting and rescue partners such as the departments of risk and disaster management (DRDM), the police, the Red Cross and the Ministry of Health.

The SFRSA has said that its 2013 training programme has touched 44% of its employees, added to 30 officers who were trained in 2012. 

The agency has announced that the programme will continue in the future and this will be hopefully led by the eventual construction of its own training centre.