The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) will be conducting free emergency response training for some of its students, as well as members of the communities surrounding the institution’s Palisadoes Road location.

The initiative is part of the CMI’s mission to establish the first voluntary emergency response unit in Jamaica.

Executive Director of the CMI,  Dr. Fritz Pinnock, who addressed a JIS Think Tank on April 19, pointed out that “69 per cent of firefighters in the United States (US) are volunteers,” adding that “this saves the US economy US$140.7 billion per year.”

He said that this is something that the CMI would want to replicate on a smaller scale in Jamaica.

He noted that the Japanese Government recently donated three fire trucks and an ambulance to the institution, which will go towards the creation of the emergency unit.

Dr. Pinnock told JIS News that the voluntary unit would provide emergency support in the East Kingston area including Harbour View, the historic Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport.

The Executive Director said that the CMI is also looking to acquire an emergency response boat to “create an even more diverse emergency response unit.”

The CMI offers firefighting training to International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards.

Source: Jamaica Information Service