Tasmania’s newest group of trainee firefighters is hitting the water this week, taking on simulated marine emergencies as part of their final stretch of training before graduation.
The 24 trainees from the Tasmania Fire Service have been carrying out exercises on the Hobart waterfront and at the Hobart Aquatic Centre, including responding to scenarios that simulate boats on fire.
It is the first time the cohort has tackled marine incidents, having already trained in urban firefighting, wildfire suppression, road crash rescue, hazardous materials response and first aid.
The exercises will test their skills in marine response procedures, search and rescue, breathing apparatus, exposure protection and patient care.
TFS Senior Station Officer and course manager Dean Graue said the trainees started the course in late March and were now five weeks out from graduation day.
“These final five weeks contain assessments in the form of incident response that encompass all the skills learnt on the program,” Graue said.
“These incident responses gradually increase in complexity and test the trainees’ knowledge and skills from their previous months of training.”
He said this week’s exercises would be the first time trainees responded to a marine incident.
“The development course is challenging and requires 100% commitment from not just the trainees, but also the whole Instructor group,” he said.
Graue stressed that completing the course was just the beginning for new firefighters.
“It’s important to note that participation in the development program is only the start of the learning,” he said.
“Firefighters continue training and assessment for the next four years to achieve the rank of Senior Firefighter.”
Anyone interested in a career as a firefighter can find more information at the TFS recruitment website.
