Three Dead As St Jude’s Goes Up In Smoke

Three people are dead following an early morning blaze that left the entire Surgical Ward of the St Jude’s Hospital in St Lucia ablaze. Residents of the Vieux Fort and Laborie area reported hearing loud explosions between 12:30 and 1am, that shook their houses. Reports are that several residents were on the scene helping to remove patients from the burning building which also houses the Pediatric Ward. Two men died in the St Jude’s Hospital while another died en route to the Victoria Hospital in Castries. Seriously injured patients were transferred to the Victoria Hospital in Castries and other hospitals around St Lucia while others were housed at the nearby Vieux Fort Comprehensive School.

The Prime Minister of St Lucia, who was at the Vieux Fort school held an emergency meeting with the fire service, the police and medical professionals before holding a press conference where he called on St Lucians to do all in their power to help those affected and to bear with the medical fraternity whose resources will be strained in this difficult time. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Source: http://stluciastar.com

Junior Fire Officers Leadership Academy Ends In Saint Lucia

Twenty junior fire officers are now more equipped to execute their duties more efficiently within the Saint Lucia Fire Service, after completing the inaugural Junior Officer Leader Academy in Leadership and Incident Command.

The one week academy which was also attended by fire officers from St. Croix, BVI, Montserrat, and Dominica, ended in Saint Lucia on Friday with a special graduation.

Speaking at the ceremony Home Affairs Minister Senator Hon. Guy Mayers called on the participants to utilise the lessons learnt to foster positive change within the respective organisations.

“Knowledge gained and not used is useless so I'm hoping that you will not just hold this information to yourself but you will share it with your colleagues so that at the end of the day you can provide a better service as fire fighters within your respective organisations,” said Home Affairs Minister Senator Hon. Guy Mayers.

The Junior Officers Leadership Academy was designed to prepare the fire fighters to provide a more efficient and professional service to Caribbean people, whenever they are called upon.

Saint Lucia's Chief Fire Officer, Mr Leslie Fontenelle, is confident that the training in Leadership and Incident Command, will redound to the futuristic development of the Fire Services across the Caribbean.

“In this training programme, I believe that we have created a platform where we can better appreciate the processes that obtain with fire departments and how critical they are to our success as organisations. With this appreciation, we can now begin to assess the future development of such organisations and develop new strategies to lead them in this changing environment,” Mr. Fontenelle added.

The Junior Officers Leadership Academy was conducted by the Caribbean Association of Fire Chiefs.

A similar programme for senior fire officers is being developed and is expected to be unveiled in coming months.

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.