Philipsburg:--- Last week the fire chiefs of the Dutch Caribbean islands came together in Sint Maarten. These meetings are scheduled every six months. In November the fire chiefs of the six islands meet together with their Dutch twinning partners, alternatively on one of the islands or in the Netherlands. In May of each year the Dutch Caribbean fire chiefs meet on one of the islands with a representative from their twinning partners.Sint Maarten Fire Chief Winston Salomon has been chairman of this group for the last two years, reason why this November the meeting took place on Sint Maarten. All chiefs were present with the exception of the Curaçao fire chief. Due to the flooding situation there his duties kept him home. As usual a representative of the Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs & Kingdom Relations also attending the meeting to update all concerned on the last developments at the ministry. Dordrecht Fire Chief Anton Slofstra attended the meeting as well. Sint Maarten signed the formal cooperation agreement with Dordrecht in November 2009, but the working relationship with the Dordrecht Fire Department and Mr. Slofstra in particular dates back to 1997.
Topics of discussion at this meeting were amongst others: Dutch Caribbean training & exam system for fire fighters, change of status for the islands after 10-10-10 and the consequences for the various fire departments, regional cooperation, protocol for mutual assistance, etc.
These meetings are considered very important for the fire chiefs. It gives them the opportunity to exchange views and ideas on common issues, enhance cooperation and keeping focus on the level of each fire department.
Since the tenure of Mr. Salomon as chairman ended in November 2010, the gathering elected the Aruba Fire Chief, Mr. Edward de Cuba as new chairman. The next meeting will take place in May 2011 on the island of Aruba.
