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Approximately 35 VI firefighters and search and rescue personnel will participate in a building collapse rescue exercise between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thursday at the Special Operations Bureau at Kirwan Terrace, St. Thomas. The media is invited to photograph/video the training exercise and to conduct interviews once the event is complete.
The exercise is the culmination of a Basic Structural Collapse Operations course coordinated and hosted by the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) and funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA Region II provided instructors for the course.
Trainers spent three days, Monday through Wednesday, providing firefighters and search and rescue personnel with classroom instruction on collapse causes, warning signs, safety precautions, void identification, search techniques, team operations, building construction awareness, and initial fire department operations.
“We cannot underscore enough, the importance of this training for firefighters and search and rescue workers, given the fact that the Virgin Islands is located in an active seismic zone,” VITEMA Elton Lewis said. “Collapsed structures are a real threat and this type of training, based on real events and best practices, is essential for the men and women of the VI Fire Service and Search and Rescue.”
The specialized training course material was developed by the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Fire Prevention and Control and Office of Counter Terrorism for the New York State Fire Training Program.
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