Local News Fire service training planned Marlon Madden25/03/2022083 views The Barbados Fire Service has completed its selection process and a new batch of officers will be starting the training programme in about a month. During the height of the pandemic in early 2021, Chief Fire Officer Errol Maynard indicated that an elevated level of training was required to effectively deal with the increased severity of disasters and an explosion of new technologies. At the time, Maynard, who is the Director of the Barbados Fire Academy, identified electric vehicle fires and malfunctioning photovoltaic systems as some of the new challenges facing fire fighting officials. In a brief update on Thursday regarding planned training opportunities, Maynard told Barbados TODAY “I believe we are much closer. We are just awaiting the final approval to train some officers. “They have all gone through the selection process and we are just awaiting approval to start the training, which I believe should be early next month,” he said. Located at the annex of the Arch Hall Fire Station in St Thomas, the Barbados Fire Academy was opened in mid-2017, bringing an official end to the Barbados Fire Service Training and Development Unit. (MM)