A number of Officers from the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service have recently completed Incident Command courses at the Fire Service College (FSC) in Moreton-In-Marsh, Gloucestershire, UK.

Leading Firefighter Dwayne Trinidad successfully completed the Incident command level 1 (ICL 1) award. This course employs a blended learning approach over a six-week period, with five days spent on site at the FSC. At the College, his skills as an operational decision maker was put to the test across an unrivalled range of realistic operational scenarios, practically on the Incident Ground and in the Simulation Suite using the new innovative Blue Hawk technology, a virtual reality educational software that is used for incident response training. This platform is utilized for teaching, training and assessment of incident commanders, from operational level up to strategic command.

For their part, Sub Officers Christian Desoiza and Karl Sciortino successfully completed the demanding Incident command level 2 (ICL 2) award. This course involved five pre-course written assignments and four challenging practical days spent at the FSC. Their decision-making skills were assessed against a varied number realistic, dynamic and emotionally charged operational scenarios utilizing virtual reality technology.

All these Officers have been awarded the Skills for Justice Award in Initial (ICL 1) and Intermediate (ICL 2) Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services. These are UK nationally recognised qualification developed by fire service subject matter experts at the request of Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) through Skills for Justice. These modules are underpinned by the National Occupational Standards, and will equip all our Officers with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding required as Incident Commanders at operational level, allowing them to lead, monitor and support crews to resolve operational incidents within our community.