[14 December 2007]

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service welcomes new firefighters

A formal passing out parade was held at the Service Training Centre on Friday 14th December. The ceremony marked the successful completion of an intensive, fourteen-week training programme that has encompassed all aspects of the modern fire fighters role. The delivery of the training had been designed to be progressively intensive and both physically and mentally demanding. It has also been hailed as one of the most thorough and diverse courses throughout the history of East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.

This is the first trainee firefighter course that East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has held for three years and Training Centre personnel have been dedicated to the development of the training programme. The course itself is the first of it's kind to be run at the Training Centre and the content has benefited from a wide-range of expertise from other local Authorities including the Environment Agency, Southern Rail, EDF Energy, Gatwick BA firefighters, Local Authority Building Control, (Collapsed structures) and the Casualty Union, who are voluntary actors recreating RTC casualties.

The trainee firefighters have been learning essential skills for sixteen weeks and have passed rigorous assessments to ensure they are ready for the next phase of their development, which will continue at their first fire station postings. Eight new firefighters will be posted to Brighton & Hove and seven will be posted to Hastings and Crowborough.

The Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive, Des Prichard, personally welcomed each trainee firefighter to the Service and presented them with their course certificates during a ceremony attended by their families, friends and representatives from East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service. He went on to say that; "they had joined a unique and exceptional Service and that it took exceptional people to enter or deal with high-risk situations in order to help those in distress or danger, often in the face of adversity."

The Chief Fire Officer & Chief Executive, added that the firefighters within East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, supported by a dedicated group of background staff, respond to incidents every day, which requires them to be of a very specific personal quality, self-disciplined and motivated to achieving high standards. They face risk in a highly calculated manner and with bravery, dedication and consummate professionalism. My staff do a job that is not always easy, but their commitment to serving our communities is there for all to see and is something we are extremely proud of."

In addition to the Trainee firefighters who will work within the response department of the Service, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service also has four Trainees from the Mobilising and Communications Centre, who also took part in the ceremony. These Trainees have undergone an intensive four-week course and are currently embroiled with on-the-job training at Headquarters, based in Eastbourne.