Good morning everyone, we are here today to introduce an initiative from the Ministry of National Security in the form of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Team or DRRMT.
Before I go into the details, I would like to ask the community for some assistance. We wanted to have an interpreter at this press conference for the deaf or hard of hearing. You will have seen from overseas news reports, that when emergency press conferences are held an interpreter is usually present. We consider this a best practice and intend to have an interpreter present for all Emergency Measures Organisation or EMO press conferences going forward. We have contacted a number of people but can’t find anyone willing to interpret for press conferences. If anyone in the community can help I ask you to contact the Team Leader who I will shortly introduce.
The DRRMT is responsible for bringing together all of the disaster plans for Bermuda and ensuring that all agencies and Government Departments are engaged and fully committed to continuously updating these plans, and training their staff in the execution of those plans to ensure that when the need arises, they work.
In the event of an occurrence, anticipated or otherwise, that requires involvement of the EMO, the Director of this team will meet with the EMO to present available plans and advise of different courses of action and where to focus their resources.
In creating the DRRMT, we selected individuals with the necessary skills, experience and expertise. Team members have sat on many committees and groups and have been integral in the development of all Bermuda’s national emergency plans.
Plans that they have worked on this year include:
- Developing a National Cybersecurity Strategy
- Updating the Airport Emergency Plan
- Developing a response to chemical hazards
- Updating the Public Health Emergency Response Plan
The public can expect to hear more detail about this team in next month’s Throne Speech.
I now have the pleasure of introducing Team Leader Steve Cosham; a 37 year veteran of the Police Service who was seconded to the Ministry of National Security in 2015 to coordinate the activities of the EMO, create and support the islands disaster plans and exercises, and coordinate responses to national events such as the America’s Cup and International Triathlon.
Over his career with the Bermuda Police Service, he has held the responsibilities of Watch Commander, Commander of the Emergency Dispatch Centre, known as ‘ComOps’, Commander of the Marine Unit and Coordinator of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team.
He brings with him skills and expertise in many areas, including bomb disposal, search and recovery diving and Pre-Planned Tactical Firearms Commander.
Good morning, and thank you Minister Caines.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce members of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Team, and I’ll ask them to step forward to be recognised:
Kelly Trott is a Principal Customs Officer with HM Customs, she has been a customs officer for 31 years, having worked in all areas throughout the customs department including
- the arrivals hall,
- commercial operations,
- cruise ship enforcement team,
- and most recently being the officer in charge of the Joint Intelligence Unit.
She is a Diagnostic Facilitator for the World Customs Organization and a certified trainer for the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council. She has been seconded to this team since June of this year.
Troy Furbert is a Divisional Officer with the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service with 30 years’ service. He has spent the vast majority of this time in operations, before assuming the role as the Head of the Training Division in 2011. He is a certified National Fire Protection Association Instructor.
He has studied at the Fire Service College in the UK where he completed the International Divisional Command Course, as well as the International Brigade Command Course. He is accredited as an Advanced Tactical Incident Commander. He has been seconded to this team since September
Dean Rubaine is the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant with the Royal Bermuda Regiment, where he has 30 years’ service. Warrant Officer Rubaine has experience with disaster relief operations not only in Bermuda, but also in
- the British Virgin Islands,
- Cayman Islands,
- and Grenada.
He ran the logistical side of the deployment in 2017 for the Royal Bermuda Regiment.
He has also been deployed to
- Barbados for the World Cricket Cup
- and he was appointed to the International Military Advisor Training Team, in Sierra Leone.
Warrant Officer Rubaine will be joining the team in November
Lyndon Raynor is a Sergeant with the Bermuda Police Service, having served for 33 years. He has served in a majority of uniform units including
- the control room, known as ‘ComOps’,
- Watch Supervisor,
- Coroners Officer and
- Operational Planning Officer.
He is qualified as a
- Firearms Incident Commander
- and Hostage Negotiator.
He has worked extensively with the EMO during hurricane
response. Sgt Raynor has taken over the position of National Events
Coordinator.
This position works well under the Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Team as all large events require contingency plans. As Bermuda is a small island, the plans that support any large event are our national disaster contingency plans, which are taken and adapted for the event.
Some of the activities that we have been coordinating during the past year include:
In November 2017 the team engaged with Belco and assisted with its annual training and exercise, cumulating with exercising its Major Environmental Emergency Plan.
The Airport Emergency Plan exercise took place in January this year when the airport staged a large fuel spill whilst a plane was full of passengers. For this exercise we brought together 27 agencies.
On Thursday this week, we will be coordinating an exercise involving the evacuation of a cruise ship at Heritage Wharf in Dockyard. This exercise will be the catalyst to forming a cruise ship response plan which would involve many Government departments and agencies coming together to ensure the passengers remain safe and secure whilst also protecting the integrity of the incident for first responders.
The five team members total over 160 years of service. The Team brings with them vast experience in different areas that will enable action plans to be quickly implemented against developing incidents.