Kigali airport fire fighters get safety training from AviAssist

AviAssist director Tom Kok said: ”In partnership with the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority and Groningen Airport Eelde from the Netherlands, the Foundation delivered its annual Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting ARFF training course in Rwanda. As always, our annual training is jam packed with practical sessions and live fire”.
The UN International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO has highlighted that, while many airport authorities are allocating resources for the procurement of fire fighting trucks, many were not allocating the required resources for the adequate training of the personnel. The same applies sometimes for the procurement of rescue tools and protective materials (helmets, boots, suits etc).
"We agree with ICAO’s position that, in addition to causing the ARFF facility to be very inefficient or even plainly ineffective, the morale of personnel is negatively affected. That is not something you can afford as an airport operator in relation to that crucial safety service” Kok explained. "It is highly commendable that the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA) invests in the training of its personnel with this course. The Foundation will be available to assist RCAA with its regular training program for its airport fire fighting unit".
“As part of our long term commitment to the region, we will continue our support to the professionals that attended the course through our social media channels which have an increasing membership among all levels of aviation organisations in Africa. We also do that with free subscriptions to our quarterly safety magazine SafetyFocus” Kok said.
“We are already in discussions with a number of airport operators in our region about hosting next editions of our training but are still open to invitations from the sub-region” Kok concluded.
Funding for the training was provided by the Rwanda CAA, Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. "AviAssist partner Kenya Airways provided all tickets as in-kind support. The support by the Foundation’s airline partners also demonstrates that the AviAssist addresses priorities identified or recognised by the aviation industry," Kok said.