The role of the Barbados Fire Service is being expanded into the area of providing emergency medical assistance.
Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs Wilfred Abrahams made this disclosure this morning during the presentation of five automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to the Fire Service by Sagicor Life Insurance Company.
He said there was a move to consolidate the operations of the Fire Service and the Ambulance Service, while suggesting fire officers should also be seen as first responders capable of rendering assistance in cases of medical emergencies.
Of 23 trainees currently enrolled at the Barbados Fire Academy at Arch Hall, St Thomas, 16 are undergoing emergency medical technician (EMT) training and will graduate as certified EMTs.
According to Abrahams, the plan is for the Fire Service to initially have 50 EMTs in the department and to have every fire officer trained in CPR and the use of the automated external defibrillator (AED).
Sagicor Life’s executive vice president and general manager Paul Inniss said the donation of the AEDs was the company’s demonstration of the role it could play in equipping the Fire Service “with additional tools that would enhance the level of service to the public”. (GC)
