Mr. Abdias Samuel, Deputy Fire Chief of the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services (SKNFRS), has been promoted to run the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Mr. Samuel’s new appointment, which takes effect Monday, July 2nd, 2018, comes following the retirement of the National Disaster Coordinator, Mr. Carl Herbert, earlier this year.
St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, announced Mr. Samuel’s appointment this afternoon in NEMA’s conference room at Lime Kiln, Basseterre.
Introducing the new National Disaster Coordinator to staff members at NEMA, Prime Minister Harris commended Mr. Samuel for his considerable experience, which over the years has seen him work closely with the St. Kitts-Nevis National Disaster Mitigation Council and play an instrumental role in organizing the Annual Summer Safety Program of the SKNFRS.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Mr. Osmond Petty and the Cabinet Secretary, Mrs. Josephine Huggins, were present for the announcement that garnered wide support and expressions of congratulations for Mr. Abdias Samuel.
Mr. Samuel joined the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services as a Firefighter in January 2000 and has since coordinated and conducted training throughout the Caribbean on behalf of USAID/OFDA. He has trained urban search and rescue teams both nationally and regionally, and instructed courses in an array of areas including chemical weapons assistance and protection.
His expertise includes assistance and protection against chemical warfare agents; coordination; firefighting; hazardous materials (Hazmat); incident command system (ICS), information management, and urban search and rescue.