Firemen struggle to contain a raging inferno at the Riverton City landfill.Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
LOCAL GOVERNMENT Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, says improvements to the fire services will depend on the amount of money allocated to her ministry from the 2005/2006 national budget which will be presented in Parliament next month.
"I don't want to say anything until I know what my allocation for fire will be, so I don't want to speak about it until I get that information," the minister told The Sunday Gleaner last week.
Mrs. Simpson Miller says she has met with officials from the Ministry of Finance and discussed the condition of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB). She says she has lobbied for the fire services to be given special treatment.
"I know that a committee is looking at bids for fire trucks, after which, the recommendations will be made to the minister of finance. So hopefully, the vehicles will be ordered soon," she said.
Last year, in Parliament, Mrs. Simpson Miller said it would take $637 million for a complete upgrade of the fire services to make it fully effective. In the supplementary estimates passed in December, $460 million was allocated to local government but none of it went to the fire services.
LACK OF MODERN EQUIPMENT
For much of his 10 years as chief of the JFB, Major George Benson bemoaned the unit's lack of modern equipment. Kingston mayor, Desmond McKenzie, has also highlighted the run-down state of the Jamaica Fire Brigade. He says little has been done to modernise its operations.
"I don't think there's any great emphasis on the fire services. The minister has tried but I don't think she's getting the support," said Mr. McKenzie.
The JFB's outdated fleet and equipment have sparked much debate in the last two years. Things came to a head in Parliament last April when members of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party moved a resolution that government had neglected the fire services. Mrs. Simpson Miller did not vote against the resolution.
Firefighters have consistently called on authorities to address their outdated equipment. They say it has become almost hopeless to tackle major assignments which include a series of bush fires in rural Jamaica.
