Operation Florian is delighted to be starting phase 9 of the Bulawayo, Zimbabwe training mission.
This partnership originally started in 2009, with the first phase taking place in 2011. Phase 9 will run from 5th – 15th December 2022 and will include a two-week intensive training programme. Attendees will take part in exercises on ladders and pumps, hazmat incidents, risk assessments, leadership and command skills, equipment maintenance, technical fire safety, community fire safety and first aid skills. They will also benefit from refresher sessions on breathing apparatus and road traffic collisions.
The Operation Florian phase 9 team consists of:
- Anthony Burscough – Operation Florian Project Manager for Zimbabwe and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service – Rtd
- Shephard Ndlovu – Senior Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire
- Mark Brisco – Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service – Rtd
- Stephen Snape – Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service – Rtd
This project would not be possible without the vision and commitment of Bulawayo City Council. This mission is also a collaboration of several organisations, including:
- Operation Florian
- City of Bulawayo
- University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN)
- Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service
- West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Cleveland Fire Brigade
- Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Services
- Ballyclare (PPE Distributors)
- Fire and Rescue Services throughout the UK donated equipment.
This partnership has resulted in Operation Florian being able to send two containers of equipment and three fire engines to Bulawayo Fire and Ambulance Brigade this year. This donated equipment is vital for not only the training of emergency personnel but also for their everyday use in responding to emergencies.
This year Operation Florian has also donated two containers of equipment and four fire engines to Harare Fire Brigade. Chinnoyi and Masvingo also received donated fire engines from Operation Florian.
Working with students from the University of Central Lancashire
We are also excited to have a unique element to these missions through the inclusion of undergraduate degree students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in many of the mission phases. The students will use their experiences from assisting the Operation Florian team as evidence for their BSc (Hons) Fire and Leadership Studies degree studies.
This partnership with UCLAN started in 2012 and over 50 students have benefited from this partnership so far. The University continues to sponsor students to assist with our missions and we hope students will continue to assist with our 2023 missions.
About Operation Florian
Operation Florian is a UK based humanitarian charity. As a non-political organisation, we assist Fire and Rescue Services and Ambulance Services around the world that need assistance. Much of our work concentrates on disaster re-building work, helping to assist and support communities to improve their fire fighting and rescue infrastructure and providing a progressive move towards normality and stability of their emergency services. We work to enable them to meet the needs and demands placed on them by the communities they serve.
The process of assisting these services often takes several years to achieve; therefore, Operation Florian is a UK Charity (Registered UK Charity number 1149445) that provides continuity and support until the receiving community can support itself. The success of such projects can only be achieved by working in partnership in an atmosphere of trust and cooperation.
Learn more about our work at: www.operationflorian.org.uk
You can also follow us on social media:
www.facebook.com/OperationFlorian