Fire Service now sending ranks overseas for advanced training in firefighting

The Guyana Fire Service in an effort to improve the firefighting capabilities of its employees is currently in the processes of sending ranks overseas to receive advanced firefighting training.
This is according to Chief Fire Officer (Ag), Gregory Wickham, who in an interview with Guyana Times explained that the fire service recognises that its ranks need to be better trained.
As such, he revealed that the Fire Service is currently in the process of providing the necessary funding and resources needed for ranks to be trained internationally.
“What we are doing, we are in the process of having our ranks being trained regionally and internationally on other firefighting aspects but, we are waiting on those approvals as we source out those courses for our ranks but generally locally, we would have done all the necessary training advance level of training that is available locally,” he explained.
Moreover, apart from human resources, the fire chief noted that investments are also being made to acquire more modern equipment which will drastically improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the fire service day to day operations.
“As we speak, we have some small firefighting appliances which we plan to deploy in the other regions and we have one sky lift that can go as high as 120ft in the air we would have used that at the ramada fire to rescue about 13 persons we have another one that will be coming and another fire boat, these are expected to arrive before year end” he stated.

The fire chief also noted that several fire engines have been acquired by the fire service through partnership between the Guyana Government and Angloco Limited – one of the United Kingdom’s oldest manufacturers of fire engines. He highlighted that several of these engines have already been delivered to respective stations across the country.
Additionally, emphasising that fire prevention is paramount, the fire chief also highlighted that the Guyana Fire Service is actively conducting inspection exercises on both public and private buildings to further bolster fire safety in the country.
“That’s a constant thing that we have been doing and I wouldn’t say we ramped up but we continue because not only public building but all structures whether that be private or public, we have been doing more and more inspections, we have been doing public education… and that’s the way forward” he stated.
Only last Friday, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn at the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) firefighter graduation ceremony, highlighted the importance of fire safety awareness and prevention amid the country’s rapid industrial growth. He stressed the need for specialised firefighting capabilities to address new challenges, especially with the upcoming petrochemical complex in Wales.
Additionally, the Government had since revealed plans to retool, retrain, and better equip the GFS in a bid to ensure its capabilities match Guyana’s current growth.
Last week, the GFS workforce was strengthened as a total of 97 persons, who hail from eight administrative regions across the country, successfully completing a three-month training programme at the Leonora Training School. The graduation of Batch One of 2024 marks a significant milestone for the GFS as the largest and most diverse class in the service’s history.
Notably, the sum of $90.6 billion was set aside in this year’s fiscal package for the security sector, for which $6.5 billion was allotted for the Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Prison Service.