A COLLEGE tutor proved to be hot property when she took her experience to the Middle East to boost fire fighting skills at an expanding airport.
Denise Kirkpatrick spent five days in Dubai instructing safety officials in the best way to increase standards at Sharjah Airport.
For the past 20 years Denise has delivered the assessor’s course working with the highly regarded International Fire Training Centre at Teesside Airport.
Dubai adopted the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority standards which are ranked among the best in the world for fire safety.
Normally fire safety officials from across the globe travel to the Tees Valley for the course but this time Denise responded to requests to deliver the training at the category 9/10 Sharjah Airport in Dubai.
Delegates included the airport’s chief and assistant fire officers, the training and assistant training officers and the training officer from the main Dubai international airport.
“We have the best standards in the world and the Dubai authorities recognise the need to develop their skills to the full,” she said.
“The fire station was buzzing for the five days I was there; it was an amazing atmosphere and the feed back on my training was incredible. Everyone was very interested in my knowledge and exceptionally polite and respectful.”
Training was based in the classroom and in the airport’s fire ground where she watched two training exercises involving the extinguishing of a fire and a search and rescue operation.
“They said they loved the content and structure of the course and could see the benefits of improving the standards of assessment,” she said. “The chief said he would be implementing what he had learned straight away, so powerful was the impact of the course.
“One of the main things we identified was the need for improved communications and, with so many different nationalities working together, better English, particularly around the technical aspects.”
The trip came two weeks after Denise’s very first visit to Dubai with her daughter to celebrate her birthday. “And, hopefully, I will be going back again soon to deliver even more training,” she said.