Emergency Services join forces to provide specialist training in Kenya
A group of 12 from fire and rescue services in Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire will be joined by paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) for the two-week trip.
After a few years of postponed trips due to COVID restrictions on Monday 24th April, Firefighters will fly 6,000 miles to share their knowledge, skills, and comradery with their counterparts in Kenya – and see how their contribution is saving lives overseas.
A group of 12 from fire and rescue services in Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire will be joined by paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) for the two-week trip.
Former Bedfordshire FRS firefighter Ray Willet co-founded the project with Fred Akandi, who lives in Dunstable but was born in Meru, Kenya established the partnership in Kenya over a decade ago, with volunteers from the Service first visiting in 2009 following a donation of vehicles and equipment.
Since then, there has been a strong bond between the Kenyan and British partners, which has seen three fire and rescue services and ambulance trust donate tens of thousands of pounds of life-saving equipment to their Kenyan counterparts.
The focus of the trip is to train Kenyan firefighters on the equipment most recently donated and pass on valuable skills and experience to help them on their firefighting mission.
Bedfordshire FRS donated two fire engines fully loaded with equipment at the end of 2018 and on this expedition, took bags full of old personal protective equipment (PPE) with them. In 2020 Angloco donated several ex LFB fire engines and recently GE Health Care donated an engine from a site that is being decommissioned.
Crew Commander Ryan Phillips, based at Kempston and Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, helps to organise the trip and explained how lots of planning goes in to the trip to ensure everyone gets the most out of it.
He said: “It’s a massively rewarding experience; you see an immediate change in the people you’re training, and see their confidence grow because of the skills we are passing on to them.”
Activities include basic firefighter training like how to use the fire engine, operate the pump, run out hose, vehicle marshalling, ladder pitching variations, knots and lines, hauling aloft and getting jets to work. As well as basic first responder skills, immediate medical care and bandaging techniques taught by ambulance staff.
The trip is only possible thanks to the generosity of the partners involved and the volunteers that contribute. Special thanks goes to Delta Fire and GE Health Care for their generous donations.
CC Phillips added: “People have put in a tremendous amount of effort to enable this extraordinary exercise can take place. From the volunteers who drive us to and from the airports, colleagues who work in stores, workshops, technical and driving – the list is endless. Thank you all so much.”
If you want to find out more about the trip or how you can donate equipment or volunteer, contact CC Phillips: Ryan.Phillips@bedsfire.gov.uk