MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue squad will host and train eight firefighters from Saudi Arabia this summer.
In a press release from Lt. Jonathan Evans, officials announced that the rescue squad was accepted by the International Fire Chiefs Associations to their International Fellowship Program to host eight firefighters from the Saudi ARAMCO Fire Protection Department later this year.
This program was implemented in 2015 as part of an educational endeavor to teach the primarily Industrial Firefighting Saudi ARAMCO Fire Protection Department how to fight residential fires as their community grows and adds more homes, Lt. Evans explains.
Myrtle Beach will host Cohort 13 starting on July 9, with a 3 week training class for the eight firefighters that were chosen to be a part of this program, and ending after six months on Dec. 20.
“The firefighters who were chosen to come over are highly educated and experienced firefighters in the Saudi ARAMCO Fire Protection Department, and will be shadowing MBFD crews as an extra firefighter, but will not engage in any medical treatment due to their level of training and J-1 visa status,” the release states.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, and Prince George County Fire/EMS are just a few of the departments that have been a part of this program in the past. Lt. Evans says the MBFD was chosen over many other larger departments to be a part of this program, and the group os proud to have the opportunity to collaborate with the International Fire Chiefs Association and the Saudi ARAMCO Fire Protection Department.
