The two officers met briefly with the Minister of Local Government and the commissioner on Thursday 4^th March 2004 and were feted later that evening at a dinner hosted by the Brigade's board chairman Mr. D. T. Brown.

Promex

Promotional examinations for the ranks from Lance Corporal to District Officers are to be conducted within the first half of the year.

The Unions have sought and received an undertaking from Brigade Headquarters that this will be done. Currently, the syllabus and students notes are being revised. Firebreak will keep you updated.

The Training Dilemma

It is a well established fact that ample preparation is essential for the successful completion of any exercise. Part of this preparation, especially when the tasks to be accomplished are dynamic and in most instances dangerous, must be a sustained programme of training.

This Fire Brigade is unique in that scant regard is given to sustained organized training at all levels of the organization. The paltry excuse that in the absence of a permanent training school, we cannot provide an effective level of training is not acceptable when the continued efficiency of the organization is dependent on up to date training.

Let us examine the consequences of not training regularly. Firstly complacency sets in and persons lose acquired skills, or more accurately lose proficiency through lack of practice. In-service training is necessary to instill confidence, maintain professionalism and team spirit. Secondly, unsafe practices and shortcuts begin to emerge which will lead to increased injuries and damage to equipment. Thirdly, in the absence of training, as the more experienced firefighters retire, the organization is left with a large body of inexperienced and largely untried persons. This year alone over 40 persons will retire from the Brigade island-wide.

The fourth and not so obvious consequence is that in the absence of on-going training any performance appraisal that takes place will be subjective because there are no indicators to measure the competence of the staff.

It is high time that Area Officers, Divisional Heads and Watch Commanders take a more active role in staff training and not just pay lip service. The few hours that are currently spent reading from students notes which now passes for training is not sufficient. There must be a new drive to undertake a training programme that is realistic and simulates the actual activities that firefighters become involved in. The station buildings can be used to simulate emergency scenes with a little creativity. Powdered soap can be used for exercises instead of foam compound. Crawl spaces can be devised using tarpaulin, ladders and ropes, and there are many other innovative ways to conduct activities.

The other side of the argument is that the limited resources the Brigade has, for example breathing apparatus, needs to be reserved for actual operations, and cannot be used for training because of the difficulty in refilling the cylinders.

This was a common excuse when Firebreak spoke with persons on the ground. While there may be some merit to the argument, firefighters need to be reminded that while the volume of air required is critical at an incident, a half full cylinder allows for practice in many simple evolutions with proper safety precautions.

There is also the fact the funding is required, especially for courses run at the Area level and against the current economic constraints, money is just not available.

What is needed now is a change in the attitude of Firefighters and Officers, where all accept that drills, table top exercises, simulations with other agencies etc. must be a part of their regular activities.

All persons must buy into a vision that declares 'We train for excellence'.

Meet the staff

In this issue we introduce Assistant Commissioner Lynden Mattocks - Chief Fire Prevention Officer who has the distinction of being the longest currently serving member of staff.

Born 19^th April 1946 in Seaton, St. Mary. Mr Mattocks joined the then St. Thomas Fire Brigade on 21^st December 1964 after a brief stint in teaching. He has worked in St. Thomas, Portland, St. Ann and since 1995 transferred to Kingston in his present post.

He holds diplomas in administration and disaster management from the Ministry of the Public Service and the United States Agency for International Development and is an active member of the Rotary Club of St. Andrew North. Married with five children, Mr. Mattock's approach to life is action packed and fast paced. In fact he describes himself as a workaholic. His hobby is gardening, he is a fan of cricket and football and used to be brilliant table tennis player

Firebreak asked about his vision for the Brigade and he immediately hoped for an enlarged and updated fleet of fire appliances ,and that more persons with tertiary level education join and contribute to the development of the Brigade. On retirement Mr. Mattocks plans to continue his work with the needy through his association with service clubs.

More Japanese units

Ten more used firefighting units were recently received from Japan as part of that country's continued assistance to the Jamaica Fire Brigade. Only three of the units however have onboard water tanks and these have since been deployed to K.S.A.' St. James and Westmoreland

Dear Readers

After a long delay and repeated calls for its resumption, your newsletter is back and will continue to be a bimonthly publication both as hard copy and on the Brigade's website.

Let me remind you that the newsletter is intended as a forum for you to express your ideas and opinions as well as share high points in the Brigade operations. I therefore appeal to you to contribute to a medium that allows for your participation in dialogue without the stamp of officialdom.

I am also requesting suggestions /nominations for an editor and support staff to compile and publish a news letter that reflects your desires. Since its inception in April 2001the news letter has been under the stewardship of a small core group that fostered its development. This is not necessarily a good thing because without variety life loses some of its spice.

In these times of economic uncertainty let us endeavor to keep the newsletter alive as a feature that is uniquely our own and one that reflects the regional and national life of the Brigade. Share a joke, hail a friend tell a story. Together we can overcome the bad times and prepare for the future.

Editor.