THIRTY-FIVE firefighters from 13 Caribbean countries have gained technical skills in wild land fire management, timely tools at a time when the region continues to experience scorching temperatures and a decline in rainfall.

The week-long training, held at The University of the West Indies, Mona in late June, was organised by the United States Forest Service (USFS) through its Natural Infrastructure for Caribbean Resilience (NICaR) programme. The US Department of State provided funding for the historic the event.

“It’s the first of its kind, promoting regional partnership around wild land fire management. Wild land fire management is something that we know is very important. It has always been an important issue in the region, but we know there has been a cultural challenge around wild land or more popularly known as bush fire,” explained Shelly-Ann Lawson-Francis, NICaR’s Caribbean resilience technical consultant.

“The cultural challenge that we’ve had with bush is that it is seen as something that is not significant, and so we let the bush burn, which is not a very good thing as you all know. So we are on a roll to cultural change … to ensure that all our countries see our land, see our grass and our trees as important and contributing to the development of our different countries. When we have these issues with fires, we are promoting collaboration in ensuring that there is prevention and management,” she added.

Lawson-Francis was speaking during the academy’s closing ceremony held at Rex Nettleford Hall.

The thinking is that wild land fires should be of significant importance similar to other natural disasters.

“This academy came about because the NICaR programme… has provided some support for community organisations to implement different projects to build resilience to climate change and other natural hazards. As a result of that programme, what has happened is that our grantees have said to us that fire is a critical issue and we do feel that our institutions need some support in being able to manage this threat as well. So hurricanes are important but so is the issue with fire,” Lawson-Francis noted

“The US Forest Service has very strong, technical competence in this area, and so it was an easy yes to get a team on board to come here to share this knowledge with you. And based on the feedback we’ve had so far, you have thoroughly enjoyed being here and benefitted from this tremendous knowledge that is being conveyed to you,” she added.

The academy featured interactive workshops, practical field exercises, and simulations covering topics such as wild land environment components, human performance concepts, fire line construction and tools as well as communication methods.

A crucial component of the academy was the train the trainer programme, an initiative that sought to build the scope and capacity of a core staff of wild land fire trainers. This is part of NICaR’s successional training approach to support a cohort of effective leaders and incident commanders to assist the communities, agencies and organisations responding to multiple fire disasters and complex situations across the Caribbean.

Participants represented units from Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, and The Bahamas.

According to deputy commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade Julian Davis-Buckle the programme has fostered a spirit of unity and cooperation within the region.

“By joining forces and sharing knowledge, expertise and resources, we will be able to create a robust network of support empowering each other to address fire-related issues. We will create a repository of knowledge that can be used to mitigate the risk associated with wild land fires. This will aid each of us in the development of comprehensive strategies that will be concerned with the unique ecological and environmental factors within each of our regions,” she said.

Political and economic counsellor and acting deputy chief of mission from the US Embassy in Kingston, Nicole Weber, supports the timeliness of the academy.

“I recognise the importance of wild land fire management, just from having lived in Jamaica for the past year. I could see some of those fires… just from my home up town a little bit. I could see the fires burning in the hills and it honestly scared me to death. But now I am reassured that we have such professionals as yourselves that really know how to manage fires when they come around,” she said to loud cheers from programme participants.

She pledged continued assistance for future projects, while commending the great network that has been fostered through the academy.

“We appreciate all of your dedication and personal sacrifice and we’d like to let you know that we definitely want to continue to support these regional initiatives. We know that you have built up an excellent network… I think we should continue to work together. I know that we will look at every opportunity to support these collaborative initiatives because… climate change is here to stay, unfortunately, and we are going to be facing increasing challenges dealing with wild land fire management, and we need to all work together for the future of all of us and of our children,” argued Weber.

The firefighter-training module was an eye-opener for the entire cohort of trainees as it exposed them to the standard firefighting orders and watch-out situations. Some participants said one of their most memorable takeaways was the acronym LCES — lookout, communication, escape route, and safety zone.

Acting divisional head of the Hanover Division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Tamara Snow was one of five females who participated in the training. She gave it, and her peers, high marks.

“We have demonstrated that we are equally competent to participate along with our male counterparts,” said Snow.

Sylvius George, acting subordinate officer at the Fire Service Headquarters in St Lucia, emphasised the importance of the course.

“The training delivered by the US Forest Department in collaboration with NICaR was very relevant regarding global climate change and temperatures in the region. We are experiencing a lot of bush fires. It was very relevant for the various agencies and I will take a lot of information that can be used immediately in combatting wild land fires in the region as we see numbers soar, especially in my island of St Lucia,” he said.

Director of forestry and renewable energy at the Ministry of Environment in Haiti, Eder Audate, said the new knowledge will be revolutionary for his country.

“This training is very important, especially for the technical staff at the Ministry of Environment, as we have been working for the past several years to fight bush fires. After this training, I will be able to return to Haiti to share my experiences with my colleagues in the sector, with different agents and institutions, especially those who manage protected areas, and also the firefighters,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“I see here in Jamaica that the firefighters that deal with bush fires work closely with those that treat with city fires. That’s a good opportunity for us Haitians to be able to contribute to the proper management of bush fires, especially in these months where we have had a prolonged drought — six to seven months — which has provoked many fires in different parts of the Republic of Haiti,” he added.

After a long week of theoretical and practical knowledge, the firefighters spent a day at Dunn’s River Falls in St Ann, where they de-stressed and got to know each other.