Shaun is pictured visiting the orphange in Dar es Salaam in 2006
3 October 2008
Firefighters are used to answering calls for help in and around the county - but for two firefighters their latest mission is taking them on a round trip of 8,500 miles.
Watch Manager Shaun Cunningham, Red Watch Bletchley, and Crew Manager Mark Boxall, Green Watch Aylesbury, are off to Africa on Monday (6 October) to pass on specialist knowledge and skills to their counterparts in Tanzania and Kenya.
Shaun and Mark will help train members of Knight Support, which provides a fire and rescue service in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya.
Knight Support was set up nine years ago and relies to a large extent on goodwill donations of vehicles, equipment and expertise from the UK.
Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service agreed to release Mark and Shaun for three weeks after being approached by Knight Support's Chief Fire Officer, Richard Baker.
Shaun said: "We will be covering best practice and basic training with them, as well as helping them in specialist areas such as extrication - releasing injured people who are trapped in vehicles after collisions - and using breathing apparatus.
Mark added: "We have a lot to get through during the three weeks and we understand our hosts are really looking forward to it. Although we are going out there as trainers, it will be a good learning experience for us as well."
In Dar es Salaam they will also visit a disabled children's orphanage to hand over a £413 donation - £113 collected at Bletchley Fire Station's open day in September and £300 donated by a member of Shaun's family. This is in addition to £400 which has already been sent to the orphanage which was raised by St Mary’s School in Burton Latimer which Shaun’s son attends. All donations go directly to the orphanage and this year are going towards repairing the roof.
Shaun, who has taken part in similar expeditions to Dar es Salaam in 2006 and Nairobi in 2007, is looking forward to visiting the two places again. He said: “It is fantastic to be able to help brigades in other countries where the opportunities for training are not as advanced as they are here. Because of this the firefighters who take part are very eager to learn and take on board all the information very quickly. There is an enormous sense of satisfaction.”
Group Manager Steve Foster, who has helped set up the trip, said: "Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are parts of the world where even the emergency services need a helping hand from time to time.
"We're very pleased to be able to offer assistance to our colleagues in Kenya and Tanzania and we're looking forward to hearing about Shaun and Mark’s experiences when they get back."