Fire fighters receive basic skills training in Wau

October 8, 2014 (WAU) – The South Sudan Red Cross (SSRC) in Western Bahr el Ghazal state have stepped up efforts to upgrade the skills of local fire fighters.

While opening the three-day training workshop at the fire brigade headquarters in the capital, Wau, on Wednesday, SSRC’s acting programme director for the state, Deng Mariano, said the SSRC had been providing support for basic skills training of South Sudan’s organised forces.

Fifteen fire fighters will undergo the latest round of training in Wau.

Mariano said the training is aimed at equipping police and fire officers with the necessary skills to overcome any challenges they might face in the course of performing their duties.

“We have this year trained police forces, including their traffic department team in personnel safety, crisis and deserter management skills,” he said.

“We are not only focusing on first aid, but crisis and deserter management is very importance because as a fire fighter, you have to know possible tactics to defeat any unexpected fire outbreak,” he added.

Mariano urged participants to take advantage of the training on offer and to incorporate what they learnt into their work.

Meanwhile, the state fire director, Lt. Colonel Bolis Bol Malou thanked the SSRC for its initiative to improve the working skills of serving fire fighters, saying it would help improve on the job safety.

“Training our officers will help them to identify and provide [a] solution to any challenge facing them during their work,” said Malou.

(ST)