Story posted March 07, 2003FIRE SERVICE SHORT OF VEHICLES AND STAFFThe Jamaica Fire service is without a quarter of its fleet of vehicles and is short staffed by over 470 persons.It was also revealed at Friday's sitting of the Senate that the three vessels assigned to fight fire on marine craft are in a state of disrepair. Responding to questions posed by Opposition Senator Desmond McKenzie, Leader of Government Business, Burchell Whiteman said the Jamaica Fire Brigade currently owns 68 operational fire units. Of this number, 51 are reportedly in good order, but only 41 are in service, while 17 are beyond repair. Senator Whiteman said the fire service has a staff complement of just over one thousand 670 persons with one thousand 484 being fire fighting personnel. He disclosed that there are 457 vacant posts for operational fire fighting personnel and 15 for non-uniformed administrative staff. Asked how equipped the fire service is to combat a petroleum fire, Senator Whiteman said additional foam and foam tenders are required to be effective. He declined to respond to a question whether he was satisfied with the state of the fire service, saying Local Government Minister Portia Simpson Miller recently tabled a Cabinet Submission containing comprehensive proposals for the rehabilitation of the Jamaica Fire Brigade. Mr. Whiteman said the Local Government Minister indicated that the service faced serious challenges, which had resulted primarily from inadequate funding over the years. |
