JESIP Training for Gibraltar’s Emergency Services and Other Responding Agencies
Twenty-five members from across Gibraltar’s Emergency Services, other responding agencies and the military recently completed the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) Commanders’ Course. This course is designed for commanders from all three levels of command: Strategic, Tactical and Operational.
The training was facilitated by the Office of Civil Contingencies and overseen by Carl Daniels, the UK’s Deputy Senior Responsible Officer for JESIP. Mr Daniels also delivered a JESIP Train the Trainer (T3) Course resulting in a further twelve members qualified as JESIP Instructors, enabling them to deliver interoperability training up to Commander level.
Since its inception in 2012, JESIP has firmly become the bedrock for multi-agency interoperability. JESIP provides a framework through doctrine and training and it has been rigorously tested through major incidents and multi-agency exercises. The recent Manchester Arena Inquiry highlighted the importance that JESIP continues to play in effective joint working which will ultimately result in saving more lives and reducing harm. It is for this reason that JESIP must continue to be firmly embedded across all responding agencies and all levels of command.
In his closing remarks to the course students, the Civil Contingencies Coordinator, Ivor Lopez thanked the UK JESIP Team for their continued support over the last 5 years and reiterated the importance of joint working at every level of command. He added that JESIP has become a critical element of the emergency services response to a major incident and that this training provides the commanders and first responders with the necessary tools to cut through the chaos and complexities that are ever present in serious incidents to jointly deliver the most effective and timely response.
JESIP Deputy Senior Responsible Officer, Carl Daniels, said ‘JESIP is not a new concept for the emergency services in Gibraltar and this course has further highlighted Gibraltar’s commitment to embed the JESIP models and principles into their emergency response plans. By working together at incidents in true interoperable fashion, responders will be able to manage the challenges they face more effectively, saving more lives and reducing harm.”
The Minister responsible for Civil Contingencies, Leslie Bruzon, said: “Events over recent years have shown the need for the emergency services to operate together as effectively as possible. JESIP was established to address the issue of interoperability across the blue light services and we must therefore continue to train together to ensure that we are best prepared to deal with any future threats and risks.”
