"FIRE! FIRE!" These words often drive fear into the hearts of the average householder, business owner or operators of any commercial entity.
Most just have to hear the word 'fire' mentioned to have visions of precious possessions, vital and expensive equipment literally going up in smoke. Then the stomach knots and the head aches at the thought of having to replace said possessions and/or start acquiring them again from scratch.
The National Water Commission (NWC) was recently spared this kind of distress, when a potentially catastrophic fire was doused soon after it began - thanks to the alertness and quick thinking of an astute resident, Merlyn Brown of Parklee District in St. Elizabeth.
Miss Brown says that she was at home in the district, when she noticed a small fire on the grounds of the NWC plant nearby.
"It seems that the transformer on the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) pole blew and a wire fell from it on to the grass at the pumping station," she explained. Trying not to panic, although she realised immediately the long-term effect such a fire could have on her water supply and that of her neighbours, Miss Brown acted quickly. She called to a neighbour and asked that the Fire Brigade be contacted, then decided to take matters into her own hands.
"I called my son and another fellow in the area and, between the three of us, we ran and fill buckets of water (from the standpipe at the pumping station) and tried to douse the fire until the Brigade got there," Miss Brown said, not even realising how heroic her gesture was.
She said she was particularly worried because there was a strong wind blowing at the time, and over 20 minutes had passed since the Brigade was called. In fact, she lamented, it took the Fire Brigade almost half-an-hour to get to the scene. By that time, the fire had effectively been extinguished.
"We really are very grateful for her efforts," said NWC District Manager for St. Elizabeth, Keith Harris. "Parklee is part of the larger Malvern/Munro water supply system, which serves a wide section of Southern St. Elizabeth. The level and extent of disruption in water supply to these communities would have been extensive, if Miss Brown had not acted as promptly and decisively as she did," he said.
Miss Brown is very modest about her valiant deed. "If it was my house, I would want others to help. A fire can be such a terrible thing, and the NWC workers are my friends (she made special mention of Operations Supervisor for Black River, Claude Grindley), so I had to do what I could to help," she said.
For her efforts, Miss Brown received a 'thank you' letter from the Regional Management team of the NWC's Central Region. Even so, this 'unsung hero' from St. Bess stressed that if the opportunity arose, she would gladly do it again.
