15 new vehicles but none to fight fires
Published: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Acting Chief Fire Officer Roosevelt Bruce, left, during the blessing of his official vehicle at yesterday's ceremony at Fire Services headquarters, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain. PHOTO: JEFF MAYERS
The Fire Services yesterday added 15 new vehicles to its fleet, including a luxury Lexus sedan and high-end SUVs, none of which are needed to douse flames.
These vehicles, which cost $4,030,647, were bought from Southern Sales by the Ministry of National Security.
They come fully equipped with MP3 players, USBs, air-conditioning and GPS.
However, with all these luxuries, the service is grappling with the need for fire-fighting equipment at several fire stations across T&T.
Yesterday, president of the Fire Services Association Leo Ramkissoon criticised the acquisition of the vehicles.
He said: “We are awaiting to see how those recently-commissioned vehicles are going to improve the Fire Services’ ability to respond to emergencies, fire calls and flooding.
“We have been calling for fire-fighting units to do the jobs. There are several units that are not working and defective,” said Ramkissoon in a telephone interview.
He said there were no working fire appliances at the Belmont, Woodbrook and Chaguaramas Fire Stations and the tender at the Santa Cruz Fire Station did not pass a vehicle inspection.
He said that Belmont Fire Station was located in a crucial area that covered the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, Port-of-Spain, the President’s residence, the Belmont community, St Ann’s, the Diplomatic Centre and Laventille.
Ramkissoon said members of the association were not invited to attend the event and stood at the nearby building listening to the speeches at the handing- over ceremony.
Acting Chief Fire Officer Roosevelt Bruce said the utility vehicles were bought instead of the fire tenders because they were easier to acquire.
He said specialised fire-fighting equipment had to be imported and took months to acquire.
He added: “We have vehicles at the stations and some are in need of repairs and we are repairing them now.
http://m.guardian.co.tt/news/2015-05-07 ... ight-fires
