WESTERN BUREAU:
THE MONTEGO Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry says it is concerned about the deficiencies of the Jamaica Fire Brigade in St. James, Hanover and Trelawny, which has no units for first response to emergencies in the parishes.
Up to last Thursday, mechanical problems and difficulty finding parts had disabled four response units - that is, the trucks that take water to the scene of a fire - leaving only one to serve the parishes of St. James, Hanover and Trelawny.
That unit was on loan from the Falmouth Fire Station in Trelawny. The chamber said it was alarmed that the fire service has deteriorated to the stage where there was one unit to serve the parishes.
It also called on the Minister of Local Government, Portia Simpson Miller to dispatch fire-fighting equipment from Kingston that can be used to fight fire in a high-rise building to alleviate the chronic situation that now exists.
"The deficiency of the basic utility emergency services could have a disastrous effect on our vital hospitality industry. The hotels located in the three parishes are for the most parts high-rise buildings," read the chamber's release.
"If there was an unfortunate occurrence of a fire in any of these properties then we would not have the equipment to fight the fire and apart from tragedy that could occur, it would have a negative effect on the vital industry."
BURNT TO DEATH
It also claimed that the availability of fire-fighting equipment would have prevented the loss of five-year-old Anthony Grey, who was burnt to death in Sandy Bay, Hanover last Thursday.
The child was sitting in a car when it was set ablaze. The Barnett Street Fire Station had to respond to the call, as the response unit at the Lucea Fire Station was out of service due to mechanical problems. But while on its way, the responding unit crashed on the Howard Cooke Boulevard in Montego Bay.
"We are asking the Minster to immediately seek funds to have all five trucks in Western Jamaica repaired and brought back to full service as a matter of urgency. And in long term, to properly equip the fire-fighting service in all western parishes so that we will never have to face such a deplorable situation again," the release said.
In an interview on Monday with Errol Mowatt, the assistant commissioner in charge of Area Four of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, he said that the repairs to the units were progressing.
"I was advised that one (truck) should be ready in an hour and they are going on to repair a second one," Mr. Mowatt noted. "We (the Montego Bay Fire Station) got a pumper truck over the weekend on loan from Kingston."
The assistant commissioner said that a team, which was dispatched to effect repairs on the units, had arrived in Montego Bay on Sunday and that the needed spare parts had been sourced.
The trucks out of service include two at Barnett Street, and one at the Ironshore Fire Station in St. James, and one at the Lucea Fire Station in Hanover.
