Hanover fire brigade faces space constraints

WESTERN BUREAU:

TEN OF the 106 new Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) graduates from intake No. 24 have been placed in Hanover.

However, as much as they are appreciated, their arrival has created additional problems for supervisors in that parish. With just one fire station in the parish, located in the capital town, Lucea, the JFB Hanover Division is running short on space and other amenities to properly facilitate efficient operations.

In an interview with The Gleaner, acting superintendent in charge of the JFB Hanover Division, Keneisha Vaccianna, noted that all 10 recruits, eight men and two women, reported for duty on Monday, December 12, and will all be placed on a one-week orientation, following which they will be placed in batches for duty.

He anticipates that there will be insufficient space to accommodate the increased number of firefighters and equipment in the existing facility that currently houses the JFB Hanover headquarters.

“Coming from the initial structure in place, it did not factor in an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) team, which is now part of the services being offered here, which is an additional three persons per shift plus a supervisor who needs office space from which to work,” he explained.

“The initial strength (of the facility) factored in one fire unit, with its complement of firefighters. Over the years, we have grown to two fire units, even though one is off action now. But, when it’s back up, it will still be operating from here, and there is also a forecast for additional resources to be added to the division,” he explained.

Vaccianna argued that the additional resources, in the form of a utility vehicle in Hanover, will also automatically highlight the need for more space.

“Now, with a station being designed for one unit, one fire crew, now having to facilitate a crew for two units, and a crew for an EMS service, it has outgrown its space over time and is in need of some amount of expansion, but the land here does not offer much in that regard,” he emphasised.

He said there is also the need for parking space for the fire service staff, whose private vehicles are now parked on private lands adjoining the fire station, under an arrangement with the owner of those lands.

SUITABLE LANDS

The Gleaner has learnt that the present location of the Lucea Fire Station is the property of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), which is itself short on space to accommodate its staff.

Mayor of Lucea and chairman of the HMC, Sheridan Samuels, volunteered his services and knowledge of the Hanover capital, Lucea, to assist the JFB Hanover Division personnel to seek out suitable lands in that town, on which a new fire facility could be located.

“We are trying to identify suitable lands, and plans for the construction of a new station would be most ideal, and the municipal corporation has pledged to assist in that regard,” Vaccianna noted.

He said Samuels and himself had viewed vacant lands in the town on Monday, December 12.

When advised that there are reserved lands for the fire service in the Orchard Housing Scheme, in Hopewell in the eastern section of the parish, Vaccianna argued that, on inspection, that piece of land is more suitable for a substation, and that it would be best to have the divisional headquarters in Lucea and substations in the other areas of the parish.

Meanwhile, the Acting JFB divisional superintendent made a call for persons across the island in general, and the parish in particular, to be extra cautious during the upcoming festive season. He cautioned persons on basic safety tips, including to avoid lighting fires to burn garbage generated during clean-up exercises, and not to leave any fire unattended.

bryan.miller@gleanerjm.com