Firefighters Dana Lovell and Ronnie Aguiar are putting new skills to the test after undergoing a seven-week advanced training course in the UK.

The two men fine tuned their skills in officer safety, victim rescue, incident command and the impact of new technology during the course, held in Surrey, England.

The firefighters also worked shifts with Reigate Fire Station and local ambulance crews, enhancing their experience and pushing their emergency medical skills to the limit.

Acting Lt. Lovell, who has been a firefighter for 19 years and works out of Hamilton Fire Station, said he had a wonderful time and feels better off for his additional training.

"The Fire Service is embarking on a very, very impressive new training programme where officers are being given additional training in modern fire practices," said Lt. Lovell.

"It's not that we have not had training programmes before, but this is something more. Myself and Lt. Aguiar went to Surrey and did a number of courses, some of them very specialised.

"As a result, I'm now a certified instructor for how we rescue trapped people after road traffic accidents. I can teach other firefighters how to go about it, and I'm also now a qualified fire investigator."

Lt. Lovell said part of the training programme was specifically relating to natural disasters and on-going large incidents, for example hotel fires, involving a number of people.

However, he said both himself and his Bermuda colleague also learned a great deal when they worked alongside the fire and ambulance crews in Reigate, where they found themselves answering to a greater number of calls that they were used to on the Island.

"We did firefighting with the firefighters based in Reigate, which was great experience," he added.

"They had serious road traffic accidents, and a number of fires, while we were working. We gained an awful lot of experience all round.

"Neither of us had been to England before to work, but we knew before we left that the British fire service had a very good reputation for being thorough, and it was very true.

"We are not lagging behind in Bermuda when it comes to technology - our tools are on par with those in the UK - but we sort of fall behind sometimes when it comes to increased safety measures for the firefighters themselves, so we were able to gain a lot in that area, too."

Lt. Lovell said how to deal with varying kinds of air bags in vehicle accidents, for instance, was one area of interest to the Bermudian officers, along with the pros and cons of dealing with vehicle seatbelts.

He said some seatbelts can be difficult to handle without prior knowledge, and he said some contain properties that can actually explode if not handled correctly.

"All in all, it was a great experience and we both felt that we learned a great deal," he added.

"The UK has a really great system of doing things, and we have been able to look at what they do and then bring that knowledge back here."