Turkey provides training to Argentinean firefighters

By Tahir Turhan Eroglu

KOCAELI, Turkey (AA) – The Turkish government and a city in the country’s northwest have worked together to train firefighters from Argentina.

The city of Kocaeli and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) -- Turkey’s state development aid arm -- provided training and gave certificates to 20 firefighters -- three of them Argentinean – after three weeks of training, a statement from the city government said Monday.

The statement said a total of 1,776 people from 15 countries have been provided with firefighting certificates since 2010.

During the training, the firefighters took both theoretical and practical classes, including in subjects such as fire intervention techniques, moving in smoky environments, searching for victims, thermal camera use, and traffic accident rescue.

Salih Palaz, head trainer of the Kocaeli Fire Department, said: “Knowledge is something that grows as you share it.

“Thanks to our firefighter guests from the South American country of Argentina, we have made good exchanges not only in terms of education but also in terms of knowledge and sharing experiences”.

“Kocaeli firefighting provides not only vocational training, but also plays an important role in promoting the city and the country,” the city’s statement added.