On Tuesday 8th to December 18th 2009 a delegation of Dutch Caribbean fire departments will be attending this training on Sint Maarten.
The purpose of these two weeks is to establish a joint exam system for all 6 Dutch Caribbean fire departments. The training is organized under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of BZK and the Dutch Fire Fighting Examination Institute (Nbbe).
In 2006 the Nbbe certified the Sint Maarten Fire Department to be able to use the Kingdom exam system for fire fighters. After this certification Sint Maarten implemented the Kingdom exams of the Nbbe for all its personnel. Since then all exams and diploma’s of the firemen are officially recognized within the entire Dutch Kingdom. Back in 2006 this system was chosen to guarantee the level and quality of the exams for the firemen and since then the experience with this system has been more than satisfactory.
The success of the system on Sint Maarten has caught the attention of the Dutch Ministry of BZK. It is the intention of the Ministry to have a similar system established on the BES islands and offers the (future) Dutch Caribbean countries to participate. Since the original exam system is based on a Dutch model some adjustments will have to be made to make it workable for all the islands. Decisions about these adjustments will be made jointly will all parties involved.
To get a clear picture of the current state of affairs on the different islands a system check needs to be carried out. Sint Maarten has been chosen to host this system check, due to its pioneer role. The training and test is organized by the Nbbe and financed by the Ministry of BZK. Fire fighters from Sint Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Eustatius and Saba are taking part in trainings and tests on several locations on the island during these two weeks.
The training and test period is being held from the 8th until the 18th of December. Both the theoretical and the practical part will be executed as realistic as possible at different locations on the island. Included in the training is a three-day seminar for high-ranking members of the various fire departments to start working on a joint exam board for the Dutch Caribbean.
Prior to the start of the two-week training on Sint Maarten a presentation was given last Monday on Sint Eustatius in the presence of the Dutch Minister of BZK, Mrs. Guusje ter Horst.
The Sint Maarten Fire Department is very pleased to be the host for these two weeks of training and tests. Especially since the Sint Maarten has been an advocate for years to get a joint Caribbean examination system in place for all the fire departments of the Dutch Caribbean islands.
L. Winston Salomon
Chief Sint Maarten Fire Department
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