New Fire Service Headquarters At Advanced Stage

The Minister for Home Affairs and National Security has been updating the nation on ongoing works on the site which will soon house the operations of the Saint Lucia Fire and Emergency Services.

Honourable Guy Mayers says government is spending a ‘pretty penny’ on the former Coconut Growers Association property, now being modified to suit the functions of the Saint Lucia Fire and Emergency Services. The minister says relief is on the way.

"There have been a number of setbacks with that project but I am pleased to announce that we’ve finally gotten over these hurdles and work is going on in earnest to complete the facility,” Senator Mayers said.

Work on the site began last year after a visit from the Planning Division to the proposed location along with fire service and ministry representatives. Minister Mayers has empathized with the plight of the fire service men and women, who have had to undergo an extended wait for their new headquarters.

"Again similarly to the police, the old Central Fire Service Headquarters was damaged as a result of the earthquake in 2007, and we had to spread the operations of the management of the fire service at two different locations. The appliances are currently housed at the La Toc Police Training Centre.”

Government was able to lease the site after a tedious search for a suitable location. The new facility is expected to be ready by mid-year.

Early Morning City Fire Ravages Two Homes

Residents of Spruce Street, The City, awoke to find two homes in their neighbourhood engulfed in flames early yesterday morning. The fire completely destroyed an unoccupied house and extensively damaged another before fire officers could contain the blaze.

Ten officers with two fire tenders from Fire Service Headquarters under the command of Divisional Officer Lloydson Phillips and Station Officer Evans Morris attended the incident.

Two persons were reported to be displaced as a result of yesterday’s blaze.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are continuing.

Source: www.bajanfirefighters.blogspot.com

East Dry River Fire Leaves Dad Of 3 Homeless

FIRE of unknown origin yesterday gutted a house in East Dry River, Port-of-Spain leaving a 47-year-old father of three homeless and over $125,000 in losses.

Gerald Jacob said he left his Fromager Street, East Dry River home at about 7.45 am and headed to his workplace which is located not too far from his home. Two hours later, he saw smoke and decided to see what was going on.

“It was then that I got a call on my cellphone from a neighbour who said my house was on fire. By the time I reached home, my house was already in flames,” Jacob said. “I lost everything. Two apartments and even my little workshop with all my tools and machinery. It’s all gone.”

Jacob who said he works for the Catholic Board as a maintenance officer, said he was not too concerned as to where he would be staying because he knew he could rely on family and even friends for lodgings. What worries him is finance to rebuild.

“I hope I can pick myself up here and move on. But I know financially that is going to be one of the hardest things I will come across. Is 20 years now I living here. I would have to seek assistance to have the place rebuilt.”

The fire from Jacob’s home spread to one of his neighbour’s houses and caused severe damage to the upper storey and the western end of the building.

Fire officials said their response was hampered because their trucks were unable to reach the burning house because of the narrow roads. In the end, they had to link two hoses to reach the house. Investigations are continuing.

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

Quick Thinking Prevents Major Linden Fire

A fine `busing’ prevented a small fire at the Krescent Mall at Mackenzie, Linden from ending up as a major catastrophe yesterday.

No one believed Kevin Baron when he ran into the mall and admonished them to evacuate. “Twice, I calmly told everyone that there was a fire and that they should evacuate but no one took me seriously I had to put on deh ghetto style and say deh #$%^% building on fire,” he told Stabroek News. It was at that point he said persons took him seriously and rushed to secure their shops before evacuating. No one was injured.

Baron is one of the store owners and he was at his music shop some distance away when a man told him that there was a fire at the mall. “Well I know I got massive investments in my business there. I grabbed my slippers and ran over to the store,” he said.

One tenant told Stabroek News that she had just returned from the secondary school costume competition and was in her ice-cream shop. “We smell dis strong smoke but thought it was some heap burning on the outside of the building,” she said. But she became concerned when she noticed smoke engulfing the building and consistent irregular crackling sounds coming from the ceiling. The fire was discovered when she went outside and noticed heavy smoke streaming out of the ceiling of the bottom floor. Others also became very confused when they saw heavy smoke engulfing the building.

A man who was doing some work on the inside of the build yesterday said he noticed heavy sparks coming out of electrical outlets.

Others on the bottom flat of the two-storey building said that they were forced to constantly change light bulbs since they blew frequently.

Firefighters had to break open the concrete casing of the outer section of the building where the fire was in order to put out the flames.

All feared the worst had the fire broken out at night, when no one was in the building.

Tenants of the mall were high in their praise for the quick response of the Linden firefighters.e mall, managed by Reginald Sancho and partners, houses approximately thirty tenants. He could not be reached for comment.

Source: www.stabroeknews.com

Bush Fire Gives Norbrook Residents A Scare

Firefighters were last night struggling to contain a raging bush fire which broke out in the hills of Norbrook Heights and threatened several upscale homes.

The angry flames, stoked by gusty winds and dry conditions, spread at a frenetic pace leaving firefighters rushing to various sections of the hills in an effort to contain the inferno.

The fire came agonisingly close to the two-storey house owned by Stanley and Carol Gordon at 61 Sunset Boulevard.

The flames swept through the dry shrubbery on the hillside near the house and threatened to engulf the residence, but firefighters valiantly fought back the flames with fire hoses and sticks.

"We got calls from our relatives and friends on the other side of the hill that the fire had broken out and was burning down another side of the hill. By the time we know, the fire spread around here," Carol Gordon said as firemen soaked her shingle roof and wet the area surrounding her house to temporarily quench the crackling flames.

But the Gordons were not the only ones whose house was threatened by the fire. At least three other houses in the same neighbourhood were affected.

One resident said a blast of sparks nearly caused his house to become engulfed in flames and was grateful for the efforts of the firemen.

"We were watching the fire when a big gust of wind just lift up a ball of flames and dash it right inside the house," said the resident. "It was a powerful gust and if it were not for the quick action of the firemen, the house would be burnt to the ground."

But while the firefighters had brought the flames at Sunset Boulevard under control, another section of the hill close by caught fire and lit up the sky, forcing the firemen to reel in their hoses and rush to that area.

"We are trying to get more trucks as this fire is behaving rougish," one firefighter said as he jumped on a truck that sped off in the direction of the new outbreak.

As the firemen worked feverishly to contain the bush blaze, several residents of Norbrook Circle stood in a huddle and looked on nervously.

Source: www.jamaicaobserver.com

Firefighters Ignite The Spirit Of Learning

Firefighters are known for their valiant efforts to save and rescue persons and property from the searing arms of fire.

Those who have had the opportunity to witness them in action know the levels of bravery associated with the job.

However, few are aware of another bold aspect of their undertakings. In one of their most recent initiatives, firefighters are not seeking to quench but ignite a different kind of flame - flames of learning.

Homework centre for students

Under the supervision of Dolphin Doeman, deputy superintendent in charge of the Trelawny division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, personnel stationed at the Falmouth branch have started various outreach programmes.

Chief among them is a well-needed homework centre for students, operated from the conference room at the Falmouth Fire Station.

The 60 men and women assigned to the station play an integral role in the running of the centre, which started in September 2008.

The idea for the centre stemmed from the recognised need to maintain some form of interaction between the firemen and the neighbouring communities and to assist students who live in and around Falmouth.

Readily accepted

The homework centre forms part of a new approach of the Jamaica Fire Brigade being piloted by Deputy Commissioner Neil Findlay.

"The schools that were targeted were Falmouth All-Age and Hague Primary and Junior High because they are close to the Falmouth Fire Station," said Doeman.

He said that when the idea for the homework centre was presented at parent-teacher meetings, it was readily accepted.

"And so on September 22, 2008, the centre was opened with 11 students on the first day. This number has grown and we have in excess of 70 students enrolled," he reported.

The popular programme is being run at no cost to the students and a prominent supermarket in Falmouth assists the fire brigade in providing refresh-ments for the students in the evenings.

Doeman pointed out that "on a daily basis, the centre is manned by fire brigade personnel, who are always in attendance once students are there".

The centre is opened Mondays to Fridays from around 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, Lance Corporal Dane Smith, one of the officers who assists with the daily operation of the centre, believes the project is worthwhile, pointing out that it assisted the fire brigade in reaching out to the communities with its programmes.

Dual role

"The best place to start is with the little children, so when they come in, we can impart not only the mathematics and the English, but we can also teach them about fire-safety measures," he said.

Ann-Marie Smith, a parent whose eight-year-old son attends the centre, had nothing but complimentary remarks for the firefighters.

"I sincerely hope that this programme can continue for a long time and will be promoted within the schools in the area, so that all the youngsters coming up can get an opportunity to benefit from it," she said.

Source: www.jamaica-gleaner.com

The Jamaica Fire Brigade

The Fire Service in Jamaica was established in October 1871 with the formation of the Kingston Fire Brigade to satisfy the need for a trained and equipped Fire Service to be responsive to growth in housing, industrial and commercial developments in Kingston following a spate of large fires which had ravaged sections of the City's commercial sectors. Operating from Sutton Street in downtown Kingston, the Brigade was then comprised of a horse-drawn steam pump and a small number of men under the command of a Scotsman - Alexander McFarlane.

As the City grew, the need for wider fire coverage gave rise to the first sub-station, Half-Way-Tree, which opened in the late 1930s. In keeping pace with the developments a new Headquarters, York Park, was opened in November 1944 housing at the time sixty-nine men, six firefighting vehicles and a utility car. Operating under the aegis of the Kingston and St. Andrew Fire Brigade (KSA) Act, the KSA Fire Brigade was primarily for "...the protection of life and property from the ravages of fire within the limits of the Corporate area ..." The rural Parishes in the Island were not without their own defence against fire hazards and under the Parochial Fire Brigade Act twelve Parish Fire Brigades were established at various times in: St. Catherine - 1933, St. Elizabeth - 1934, Portland - 1936, St. James - 1942, St. Mary - 1948, St. Ann - 1951, Trelawny and Hanover - 1957, St. Thomas, Clarendon and Manchester - 1958, and Westmoreland - 1961.

These thirteen dis-joined Parish Brigades were all funded by Central Government but continued as fragmented parochial entities. It was always the perception in the post-independence years that for greater cost effectiveness, more efficient fire coverage, greater command and control, among other things, the fragmented Brigades should all be re-organized, unified and made answerable to one central command. Steps to bring about this unification were finally taken in October of 1988 with the passing of the Fire Brigade Act which repealed the Kingston and St. Andrew Fire Brigade Act and the Parochial Fire Brigade Act "....and established in and for (all) Jamaica a national Fire Service (thereafter) to be called the Jamaica Fire Brigade..." - one unified, national organization unfettered by parochial restrictions.

Recently the Jamaica Fire Brigade had a two weeks promotional exam where members did a paper one (01) in theory and paper two (02) in a practical settings, also ninety-eight recruits have from intake thirteen (13) graduated from the Jamaica Fire Brigade training depot (Rented Site) and are posted at some stations across the island that are in dire need of manpower http://www.jamaicafirebrigade.org/intake13.html

Firefighters Complete Marine Firefighting Training

Twenty-four firefighters from the Barbados Fire Service and two members of the Barbados Coast Guard created history on Friday when they successfully completed the first Marine Firefighting for Land-based Firefighters training course.

The one week training programme sought to expose the participants to firefighting techniques and concepts which would enable them to effectively mitigate incidents in a marine environment. The course was conducted by the Barbados Fire Service in collaboration with Hillsborough Community College and the Barbados Community College.

Course instructor Keith Williams commended the participants for the dedication and commitment shown during the training programme. He also urged them to utilise the knowledge and skills obtained from the course and encouraged them to pursue additional training in this area with a view to strenghening the fire departments capacity to respond to marine incidents.

The closing ceremony was held at the Barbados Community College Industry Services Unit on the Harbour Road, and was attended by Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Ms. Dianne Campbell, acting Deputy Principal of the Barbados Community College Dr. Sylvia Hackett, Lieutenant Commander Shurland of the Barbados Coast Guard, acting Chief Fire Officer Eric Rice and other Fire Service officials.