KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – Assistant Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade Sean Martin, says firefighters undergo continuous training, so as to ensure that they are in a state of readiness to effectively respond, in the event of an earthquake.

Martin was speaking at the launch of Earthquake Awareness Month 2016, held at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), in Kingston, on Tuesday.

He said in the past, even though the massive earthquakes that affected Jamaica were localised, other areas of the island were affected by tsunamis.

“It means that an earthquake poses different threats…. and the Jamaica Fire Brigade has trained persons in swift water rescue and we have received equipment from the United States Embassy that we will be able to conduct rescue operation in that event,” Martin said.

He also added that the brigade has established partnerships with several countries that have the best rescue teams.

“It means that as far as training is concerned, we have received just about the best training that we can get. We train persons in collapse structure … and this means that we are able to breach buildings…we can break into buildings and we can do several things to rescue persons,”.Martin noted.

Earthquake Awareness Month is being celebrated from January 1-30,  under the theme: ‘Earthquake Safety: Don’t Be Scared…. Be Prepared’.

Among the activities scheduled for the month include a media marathon from January 10-16; Earthquake Awareness Day for Schools on January 13; Earthquake Awareness Day for Businesses on January 14; Earthquake Awareness Open Day on January 20; and a Seismic Youth Forum in February.

 Jamaica’s location along the northern margin of the Caribbean Plate and the presence of very active faults on the island make it vulnerable to earthquakes. As such, earthquakes can occur at any time and anywhere on the island.