Fire chiefs representing the six Dutch Caribbean islands, including St. Maarten Fire Chief Clive Richardson (second right), met last week to discuss strengthening cooperation.
PHILIPSBURG--The fire chiefs of Curaçao, Aruba, St. Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands came together last week for a two-day meeting. Representatives of the Netherlands Fire Department and the Dutch National Fire Academy were also present.
During the meeting, they discussed strengthening cooperation and made new agreements for the future.
"The collaborative partnership between the Fire Departments in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom has existed for 10 years, as of this year. During that period, the departments have worked intensively together in the areas of training, safety, disaster relief and the development of leaders within the Fire Department," National Department Caribbean Netherlands RCN said in a press release on Wednesday.
During last week's meeting, the commanders discussed how they can better align the training and qualifications of fire personnel.
"This will make it easier to temporarily exchange fire personnel so they can gain experience or help each other in emergency situations," RCN said.
They also discussed a joint training programme for fire prevention inspectors. Additionally, agreements were made about rapid support after a hurricane.
"For residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, cooperation with the other islands in the Kingdom means that assistance in the event of a fire or disaster can be arranged faster and better, even if the department needs support from colleagues from other islands," it was stated in the press release.
