Government of Dominica

DOMINICA FIRE DEPARTMENT IN COLLABORATION WITH GEMS ADVANCES ITS EMERGENCY RESPONSE

The Dominica Fire and Ambulance Service in collaboration with the Global Emergency Medicine Strengthening (Global EMS) has hosted a ‘Train The Trainers’ workshop aimed to strengthen fire officers response to trauma and resuscitation.

The Dominica fire instructors will undergo a ten day workshop which will be followed by a two-day training session where the newly trained instructors will direct other fire officers with the various techniques and skills acquired.

Global EMS is an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) that looks to positively impact the response for medical emergencies in the day-to day practices within small islands.

Deputy Chief of Fire, Mr. Wayne Letang believes this training will significantly enhance the care and response provided by the officers. 

“That training is very useful to the Dominica Fire and Ambulance Services as it upgrades or we could say better the work that we do in our ambulance and emergency response in relations to trauma and medical response,” Mr.Letang stated.

Just half way into the year 2023, the fire and ambulance service has already recorded 45 incidents where its intervention was needed.

 “This program actually helps us carry out our duties better and the increase in motto-vehicular accidents is one of the data’s that has driven towards this type of program that we have,” he added.

Global EMS has committed to the sustainable development goals (SDG 3) which is to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. This encompasses the goal “To strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks”.

 “We develop training on skills. On skills for trauma resuscitation for example; stop the bleeding and severe motto vehicle accidents. Also we provide training on other resuscitation, infant resuscitation and cardiac arrest and we provide training for birth attendance as we identify also eminent bursts as common and frequent emergency and every ambulance crew member needs to have knowledge,” noted Dr. Joachim Unger-Director of GEMS.

Saint Lucia Fire Service EMS Instructor and Co-director of GEMS, Mr. Ireneus Henry is confident that this training will benefit the entire country.

 “When the program culminates we are going to have prepared a two-day workshop that the Dominicans will run and will continue to run until, not only the fire service is trained but they can go outside and do members of NEMO, members of red cross, and they can extend to make their island more efficient and more effective in their response. Maybe in the future even members of Dominica fire service may be pulled into the GEMS family already we have members of the Dominica fire service who are very competent. Both male and female because GEMS is high on gender equity,” Mr. Henry explained.

This training was made possible with funding from the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development in Germany.

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