The Ministry of National Security continues to invest in the human resource development of the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services, this time through the staging of a Chain of Command Workshop organized by the Training and Development Unit.

The two-day workshop commenced today, Wednesday, November 9, 2022, with a brief ceremony at the NEMA Conference Room. It is being attended by junior fire officers, supervisors and senior officers, as well as auxiliary workers and STEP employees attached to the fire services.

Acting Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Garfield Hodge addressed his officers at Wednesday’s opening ceremony where he underscored the significance of such a training exercise to the daily functioning of the department.

“The chain of command in its simplest form can be defined as an organizational structure that documents how each member reports to one another. It creates accountability within each as all personnel are responsible, not only for their own actions but also for the actions of others and their subordinates, which in turn creates a culture of responsibility and dependency on others and ultimately speaking, this is the main objective of this training and development workshop,” Acting Fire Chief Hodge stated.

According to Mr. Hodge, the inclusion of junior officers, auxiliary workers, and STEP employees ensures that at least 85 percent of the organization’s personnel benefit from the capacity-building exercise.

“We, therefore, expect that hereafter our scope of understanding relative to our functions and responsibilities, both internally and externally, will be enhanced. This of course will vastly improve our delivery of service to the general public as we endeavor to serve as we are mandated to,” Mr. Hodge said.

The two-day training programme is separated into two separate sessions. The morning sessions are being attended by junior fire officers, auxiliary workers and STEP employees, while the supervisors and senior fire officers participate in the afternoon sessions.

The St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services Chain of Command Workshop is being facilitated by National Security Advisor, Retired Major General Stewart Saunders.