The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme’s (SPREP) staff are participating in a three-day First Aid and Fire Emergency training delivered by the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority (SFESA) today at their Vailima campus.
The training is being held to ensure that SPREP staff have access to information, training and networks for basic safety procedures in emergency situations to support themselves and their families while expert help is on the way. It is also being offered to staff as a key milestone of the organisation’s People Strategy focusing on Staff Health, Safety and Wellbeing across all its office locations.
The three-day training will cover Medical Emergencies such as performing CPR, and what to do when faced with situations whereby someone goes into an epileptic seizure, upper airway obstruction and hyperthermia or hypothermia. It will also cover Traumas such as bleedings, embedded objects, burns and fractures. This will be followed by a fire response demonstration and support with relevant networks and other supporting agencies.
SFESA Commissioner Tanuvasa Petone Mauga, thanked the Director General and staff of SPREP for availing them an opportunity to conduct this important training at the recently opened Pacific Climate Change Centre located at the SPREP Campus.
“I am very pleased with the opportunity given for our team to be able to facilitate this training and I am also overwhelmed with the support shown by SPREP that has made this possible.
“We have seen an increase in the need for our ambulance service since the Authority took over this operation in 2018. We have recorded an average of at least 250-300 calls for ambulance responses per month and this proves how important this service is to our country,” Commissioner Mauga said.
“With the greater need for this service also brings about an even greater need for training and awareness for our people to learn basic skills that could assist whilst waiting for help to arrive,” he added.
He also emphasised the importance of preparedness in times of emergencies, knowing what to do, having the confidence to do so, and the resources required is key. “Like the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.”
Commissioner Mauga also expressed his gratitude to SPREP for their assistance through the Community Based Early Warning System, a component of the World Meteorological Organisation’s Early Warning System Pacific Small Islands Developing States (CREWS Pacific SIDS) Project, which is assisting in the implementation of nearly ten community trainings for both Upolu and Savai’i.
SPREP Director General, Mr Leota Kosi Latu, urged his staff to take advantage of the expertise and experience which will be imparted on them by the SFESA team over the next couple of days.
“We are heading into the end of the year, which means the cyclone season is not too far away so this training is opportune,” Mr Latu said.
“We tend to depend on people like the SFESA team in times of troubles and when we need this kind of expertise. We tend to not think of ourselves as first responders during these times. But this training will give us the confidence and the chance for us to learn something that could be of use not just today but for the rest of our lives.”
“Colleagues, we are fortunate that we will be learning from the professionals so I would like to encourage you all to stay the course and take advantage of this opportunity,” he concluded.