JFB steps up emergency response

The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) has taken a significant step towards modernising the country’s emergency response system with the graduation of its first cohort of 24 emergency telecommunicators.

As the first point of contact during fire, rescue and medical incidents, emergency telecommunicators play a crucial role in coordinating rapid and effective responses.

“The graduation of these Emergency Telecommunicators marks the beginning of a new era in the JFB, one defined by professionalism, technological readiness, and a steadfast commitment to protecting lives and property across Jamaica,” said Assistant Commissioner of the JFB, Andrew Russell.

The graduates will be deployed to the newly established Emergency Communication Centre (ECC), the centralised hub responsible for receiving emergency calls and dispatching fire and rescue units across the island.

“The deployment of the trained telecommunicators will significantly improve the efficiency and reliability of emergency response services. The ECC is expected to streamline the processing of emergency calls, strengthen inter-agency coordination, particularly with the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and support the overall digital transformation of Jamaica’s emergency management systems,” Russell said.

He noted that the Emergency Telecommunicator Training Programme was designed to create a specialised cadre of professionals capable of managing high-pressure, high-stakes emergency calls. “Telecommunicators must demonstrate exceptional communication skills, technical proficiency, situational awareness, and emotional resilience,” he added.

Before graduating, participants completed a five-week training programme that combined theoretical instruction with rigorous, scenario-based exercises. Areas of study included interpersonal communication, ethics and professional conduct, confidentiality and data protection, emergency telecommunications systems, call classification, computer-aided dispatch operations, radio communication techniques, multi-agency coordination protocols and stress management.

The programme was delivered through a collaboration involving HEART/NSTA Trust, the JFB and international partners Winbourne Consulting and Global Emergency Services Consulting Group, and was hosted at the Gomex Institute of Technology in Portmore, St Catherine.