New fire station in MoBay to open in May

The newly constructed Montego Bay Fire Station in St James will be officially opened on May 13.

Speaking at the monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation on Thursday, Jamaica Fire Brigade's (JFB) acting assistant superintendent of the St James Division Shayne Jones-Henry informed that the brigade is currently working to complete the installation of utilities for full functionality of the state-of-the-art facility.

“It was officially handed over to us [JFB] by the project team and the provision of the installation of utilities is being actioned by the fire brigade,” she informed.

The four-storey facility, constructed at an approximate cost of $574 million by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) under its Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Programme, is considered to be the most modern fire station in the region.

It features dormitories for the firefighters, administrative offices, a gymnasium, and communal spaces.

Meanwhile, in an interview with JIS News, Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said the necessary furniture and equipment needed to outfit the fire station are being put in place.

“We are in the final stages of making the station ready and we anticipate that government officials will be present on the 13th of May to open it. Equipment to outfit the facility have been coming in. It [the opening] is a month away and we are working towards that,” Sweeney said.

The new fire station, which will have the capacity to accommodate over 200 firefighters, will replace the old Barnett Street facility that was demolished in 2006.

- JIS News

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.