London Fire Brigade firefighters train first responders in Malawi
The station commander was part of the UK's ISAR team that flew out to Malawi in March 2023 to help with the cyclone rescue efforts.He said he felt he had "built an affinity with the people and the country" and the latest visit was a "real opportunity to add value"."It's a country accustomed to having lots of rain and cyclone seasons, but Cyclone Freddy was the longest-lasting tropical storm on record lasting for 36 days," he said."Sadly, with climate change, this type of disaster is probably going to be more prevalent in many parts of the world."
Mr Simpson was joined by station officer Alastair Hislop, who had accompanied him on the deployment to Bangula in southern Malawi two years ago, and firefighter Sarah Mimnagh.The training took place on the shores of Lake Malawi in the eastern region.
"We taught local agencies about disaster risk management but also how to be more strategic with resources when a disaster, like floods, hit," said Mr Simpson."The teams we met out there were really receptive to our expertise and were fully engaged in everything we had to teach them both on the boats and in the classroom."Mr Simpson, who has been part of the UK ISAR team for five years, added: "It sounds like a cliché but being able to help people really is the reason for doing this type of work."
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