Rats in charge at MoBay Fire Station
Published:Friday | July 13, 2012 | 12:00 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
Rats are threatening the health and safety of personnel at the St James Fire Station in the Montego Freeport area, where they have been temporarily relocated since 2006.
"The rats are a nuisance. Every night a whole pack of them come out and a run 'bout the place, especially around the area where the garbage bins are," a firefighter shared with The Gleaner.
"They say they set poison to bait them but I don't see where it is effective. They keep coming back in larger numbers."
The issue of the rat nuisance was brought to the fore by Assistant Superintendent Vincent Allen as he presented the monthly report for June to the regular sitting of the St James Parish Council.
Allen urged that there be some alleviation to the 'rat attack' which his personnel constantly complain about. He said the rodents were also gnawing away at the firefighters' kits, including helmets, jackets and boots.
"The rats are defecating on some people's belongings. It is just not right," said a firefighter who requested anonymity.
"The working conditions are just not suitable and it is stressful for us to work from down there. It's just very poor. You even have material falling out of the building which was fixed the other day."
Last November, the department of Local Government did a review of the Montego Freeport location to determine whether to relocate the firefighters or fix the facility.
It was subsequently decided that the station would receive $500,000 in rehabilitation work.
The Montego Bay Fire Station was previously housed on Barnett Street in downtown Montego Bay. The 50-year-old structure was demolished in 2006 - with the intent to rebuild - due to serious health hazards.
An August 2011 Gleaner article highlighted firefighters' concerns about the sturdiness of the facility for withstanding the impact of a hurricane.