11/06/2026
From 2 to 5 June, the Fire and Rescue Training Centre in Kiambu is hosting the first Training of Trainers course for members of Nairobi-Kiambu Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams.
The course is delivered by members of USAR Poland and is designed for selected Kenyan USAR rescuers who will later train responders from across the country in the basic principles of rescue operations during structural collapse incidents.
This training marks the next step in building Kenya’s national USAR capacity. Participants are being prepared to work as operational instructors able to plan lessons, adapt training content to Kenyan conditions, organise practical training stations, supervise trainees safely and assess basic rescue skills.
The future First Responders course will be based on the INSARAG First Responder Training Programme, expanded with operational input developed through PCPM’s work with Kenyan fire and rescue services. The aim is to create a practical training package that can be delivered locally and safely, with examples, scenarios and equipment assumptions adjusted to the Kenyan operating environment.
During the ToT, participants work on adult education, course planning, localisation of materials, training safety, scenario design, practical demonstrations and micro-teaching. A significant part of the course focuses on how to teach basic response to collapsed structures: scene safety, initial assessment, information flow, basic search, surface rescue, casualty handling and cooperation with professional USAR teams.
The course is part of a wider process of developing instructors who can support the roll-out of standardised First Responders training in Kenya. In the first phase of a building collapse, local responders are usually the first to arrive and the first to act. Their ability to recognise hazards, organise the scene, pass accurate information and conduct simple rescue tasks safely can directly influence the effectiveness of later specialist operations.
By training instructors from within the USAR system, Kenya is strengthening specialist rescue capability and the wider response chain around it.
The Training of Trainers course is conducted at the Fire and Rescue Training Centre in Kiambu, managed by Polskie Centrum Pomocy Międzynarodowej (PCPM)CPM, with the support of .