Claude Mills, Staff Reporter
SEVERAL NIGHTCLUBS and places of amusement in the Corporate Area and St. Catherine may be endangering the lives of patrons by flouting fire safety laws and operating without proper insurance coverage.
"We will be closing them down once they're unsafe," assistant superintendent Wayne Farquharson of the Fire Prevention Unit of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, said.
"There are no two ways about it. We will not ignore any breaches that compromise the safety of patrons visiting these places of amusement in the Corporate Area and St. Catherine."
Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of cases where places of amusement apply for a licence, a move signalling their intention to comply, but then they go on to operate for several months without achieving fire certification restrictions and securing insurance coverage.
Mr. Farquharson pointed in the direction of a clear breakdown in communication between the KSAC and the Fire Department.
"I have seen cases where approval has been given by the KSAC to construct a club, with no mention being made for them to seek approval from the Fire Department, this cannot be allowed to happen," Mr. Farquharson said.
Under the KSAC Places of Amusement Regulations, all venues for commercial entertainment within the Corporate Area are required to be licensed by the Corporation, once certain criteria are met.
Some of these include certification from the Jamaica Fire Brigade that there are adequate fire precautions in place at the venue and the payment of a prescribed annual fee.
The problem is further compounded by the short life span of these clubs which keep popping up and then disappearing.
"This is not about revenue," Mr. Farquharson said, "but about the safety and protection of those who patronise these businesses."
Lincoln Evans, who is acting as Town Clerk in the absence of Errol Greene, vehemently denies any wrongdoing on the part of the local authority. "That is not so. I am not going to say that there aren't places operating in contravention of the laws, but to say KSAC gives a licence to operate without the Fire Brigade inspecting it?" asked Lincoln Evans, acting Town Clerk, said.
"We haven't issued any licences to any club that has not satisfied regulations. In order to start the process, applicants come in and pay an application fee, and we send the information to the Fire Department, which will go and check it out, and then they would seek to get insurance.
"I just believe that someone is trying to hoodwink the Fire Department by saying they have a licence when all they have done is pay the application fee. They cannot obtain a licence until they have been certified by the Fire Department and have secured insurance coverage.
"There might be entities we are not aware of because of their limited lifespan where they go out of business and come in with some regularity. We will be increasing our vigilance, maybe it means adopting a blanket approach of not taking an application unless someone has secured insurance coverage and fire certification," he said.
However, he expressed confidence in the present manner in which applications were being handled. "But I think maybe it is better to retain the system where people apply for a licence first because at least they would apply, and in the eventuality of anything, the Fire Department would know where to find that person because the information would be in our possession," Mr. Evans said.
The situation is particularly problematic in St. Catherine. Checks with the Spanish Town Fire Department revealed that that entity has only two places of amusement listed as being certified, the Twyn City Restaurant and the theatre in the Portmore Mall which has been described as 'perfect'. A few weeks ago, there was a near riot at the La Roose Restaurant and Lounge, where three persons were shot during an altercation with the police.
In the meantime, beginning March 3, 2003, the Jamaica Fire Brigade will begin to aggressively assess the safety features of several places of amusement in St. Catherine, especially on the sex shop strip of Port Henderson, Portmore.
