Call for Fire Unit in South Trelawny By Richard Morais,
Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU: FOLLOWING CLOSELY on a recent fire that killed three persons and gutted a 10-apartment building in their community, residents of Southern Trelawny are calling for a fire unit to be placed in the area urgently. According to the residents, the Falmouth fire station, an hour away, is too far to be of any help to them. By the time the fire engines from the parish capital get to any destination in the area, even at top speed, most buildings would already be destroyed, the residents say. They noted that the average value of homes in the area is more than $1M and with commercial activity on the up swing, the need for a fire station is of utmost importance. The residents have an ally in the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mrs. Doreen Chen "From I was elected to represent the constituency I have been lobbying for such," Mrs. Chen noted. She said she would be satisfied with a sub-station with only one fire truck and two trained firemen as the residents are willing to provide additional support if needed. The MP noted that she had volunteers who could be trained to work with the drivers and has even committed her Social Economic Support Programme (SESP) money to fund partial maintenance of the unit. It might be some time however before Southern Trelawny gets it own station. Commanding Officer for the Trelawny Fire Service, Deputy Superintendent Robert Clayton says there is not enough money to build a fire station in the area. He told Cornwall Edition that the National Fire service was comprised of 33 fire stations and resources and equipment are not enough to fully maintain all of them. As a result, Clayton said, there was not enough funding to open another station in the south of the parish. He, however, acknowledged that the distance from Falmouth and terrain made it impossible to provide adequate service to the area. The Superintendent emphasised the fact that proper safety measures can minimise the devastating effects and losses caused by fire. He is recommending that each household invests in a fire extinguisher, and pointed out that a 5lb. ABC Dry Power extinguisher, which can handle almost all residential fires, would be the minimum required unit for the average household. Mr. Clayton contends that many fires, except for those which include explosions, could be contained with fire extinguishers.
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