Firefighters trial new training course to hone specialist rescue skills - VIDEO - Emergency Services Academy - Orchard Hills
Published: 05 Apr 2023 11:18am
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has begun trialling a new training course, designed to improve firefighters’ advanced rescue skills and in turn, boost public protection.
The pilot Primary Rescue Operators Program (PROP) has been created using feedback from firefighters, keen to increase their capabilities through self-paced and instructor-led training before attending a block specialist course.
The trial allows the firefighters to conduct the training when it suits them, not at the expense of their frontline commitments.
The first 16 participants of the trial, nominated by their commands, have been exposed to a range of realistic rescue scenarios during the first 12-day block training course, including extracting ‘victims’ from road crashes, rescuing ‘unconscious motorists’ from level crossing accidents and hauling ‘injured bushwalkers’ up a mountainside.
Completion of the course would assist the firefighters’ eventual qualification as advanced rescue specialists.
“Whilst every firefighter has basic rescue skills, the course teaches them how to save people in complex environments,” FRNSW Head of Technical Training Daron Lesslie said, “Whether it’s cars into trains or other heavy vehicle scenarios involving semi-trailers or buses.
“FRNSW is also the lead agency for Hazardous Materials incidents, so these skills are very much linked to our HAZMAT capabilities as well,” Supt Lesslie added.
“Our expertise in medical responses is also intertwined in our rescue training know-how because we are often at the scene of emergencies first.
“This course refines all those skills, particularly specialising in the rescue capability that we provide the community.”
_Media Note: FRNSW footage of the training course underway is available here: _https://vimeo.com/796456532/313cf93b57 [external link]
Updated: 05 Apr 2023 11:33am
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