Inner islands get own firefighters |04 May 2016

Only nine months after the official opening of the Praslin fire station, a first group of 23 young firefighters to be trained at the station have received their certificates after successfully completing six months training.

This was during a ceremony last week, the first to be held on an island other than Mahe and is in line with the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency’s efforts to have both Praslinois and Diguois trained to maintain and run fire stations on their respective islands.

Regis Bethew, the divisional officer who is also responsible for training, said they chose the Praslin station for the graduation ceremony as most graduates originate from Praslin – 10 in total, with six from La Digue and seven from Mahe.

Mr Bethew praised and congratulated the graduates for having chosen such a noble profession and urged them to build a long term career in this profession, to progressively climb up the ladder and remember to always remain committed and love and be passionate about their work, and display professionalism at all time.

All the young officers followed a common training programme which was conducted on their respective islands and from each three groups, the best performers were rewarded by the Minister for Home Affairs Charles Bastienne.

Marvis Leon was the best performer in the group from Mahe, Nicholas Mussard in the group from La Digue and Jean-Michel Marie in the group from Praslin.

Veronique Cesar, on behalf of all the graduates, thanked the  instructors, the management, families and all those who supported them throughout their training and reassured all those present  to witness their achievements and that they shall always keep their motto ‘Desire to Serve and Courage to Act’ at heart.

Though the effort to decentralise the fire and rescue services to nearby islands has already started to bear fruits, there is still much to be done and the youths of both Praslin and La Digue are being called upon to consider taking up a career in fire fighting. Application forms are readily available at both stations.

 Text : Nadia Bedier

Photos: Romano Laurence