Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
SHAW
THE STATE of the nation's fire service did not escape being singed on Tuesday by the Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Audley Shaw.
He painted a dismal picture of the conditions of the Jamaica Fire Brigade during his contribution to the 2005/06 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives.
Presenting the findings of a recent survey conducted by the Opposition on the status of the fire services, Mr. Shaw said several fire units were out of service or in need of repairs.
He said two of the units in St. Ann were out of service while of the 15 units in St. James, only three were working.
In St. Elizabeth, all three fire units were in need of repairs, only one of three units in Manchester was working and only one of two units was working, in the parish of Clarendon, according to Mr. Shaw.
Mr. Shaw also said that the fire stations were desperately in need of essential fire-fighting equipment, including the Jaws of Life, which is used to rescue accident victims. Based on the Jamaica Labour Party's survey, seven parishes did not have this equipment.
He said the cost of one Jaws of Life is US$10,000 ($620,000). Other equipment that was badly needed, Shaw said, include breathing
apparatuses, boots, coats, tyres, hoses, power saws and protective gear.
CANNOT WAIT ANOTHER YEAR
Said Shaw, "This is bad, this is unacceptable this is shameful." He insisted that the fire service could not wait for another year to be addressed. He added that the budget allocation for the fire service should not be passed unless there was a substantial amount of money allocated for capital works for the department.
Two weeks ago, at the Standing Finance Committee's examination of the 2005/06 Estimates of Expenditure, Minister of Local Government, Portia Simpson Miller disclosed that the fire service received an increase of $300 million in its budgetary allocation for the 2005/06 financial year.
