Nine workers at TelEm Group have graduated as Fire and First Aid Responders – the first certificated graduation of its kind on St. Maarten.
On Tuesday the graduates were presented with Diplomas from the externally assessed Netherlands Insituut voor Bedrijfshulpverlening (NIBHV) Basic Responder course.
The nine are officially called Emergency Responder Officers after following the NIBHV Basic Training Course.
Course resource persons, Marco London (2nd left) and Ans Rijnbout (r)) were both impressed with the high scores achieved by the TelEm Group personnel.
The trained responders are: (l-r) Carmita Brooks, Marcus Levenstone, Olav Reed, Jesus Richardson, Lomeno Bryson, Nataly frans-York, Elroy Hughes, Nadia Rombley and project coordinator, Hilary Williams (not pictured).
"We expected the group to do well but we were very pleased with the final results especially because the exams are set assessed in the Netherlands," said Mr. London.
He said the certificates are the result of two days of intensive training in First Aid and Fire-prevention and safety procedures.
In the Netherlands, the Dutch Occupational Safety and Health Act ensures employers see to the safety of third parties on company premises.
Similar requirements are being made for companies on St. Maarten in keeping with tougher safety regulations.
According to Mr. London, TelEm Group is the first class to follow this course and to receive the internationally recognized Diploma locally.
TelEm Group Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Helma Etnel has congratulated the Responders on their recent success.
"TelEm Group is completely compliant with fire and safety regulations that are far above previous requirements. We have now taken compliance another step further by having officially trained responders in the company," added Mrs. Etnel.
The CFO said a fire and safety drill will be carried out within short to further educate other staff members about safety procedures within the company.