Angelo Laurence, Gleaner Writer
MEMBERS OF the commercial sector as well as residents are seeking answers as to the status of fire service in the town.
On Wednesday several business operators told The Gleaner that they did not feel comfortable with the level of the fire service being provided by the Mande-ville Fire Brigade. They were speaking against the background of a recent fire on Race Course Road which completely de-stroyed D&S Auto located only yards from the fire station as well as a home in Comfort district, three miles away which met a similar fate four weeks ago.
Garage owner David Black said "I do not feel safe in this town when it comes to a fire" for every time there is fire the property is totally destroyed and "the same excuses are given" for the destruction.
Mr. Black said he has joined other business persons in the rush to purchase fire extinguishers and has become more mindful of fire prevent methods.
House owner Pansy Nedham of Mike Town, said if there is fire at her home she would not call the fire brigade as it is a 'waste of time'. "They always come after everything burn up" she said, adding that if they do come they (firemen) rarely act like professionals. They don't seem to operate in a co-ordinated way when you see them at the scene of an emergency, said Miss Nedham, and they are always out of water.
Deputy Superintendent Lynford Gayle of the Mandeville Fire Brigade told The Gleaner that he too could consider the town as "unsafe when it comes to a fire". Besides suffering from the lack of a reliable water supply system, Superintendent Gayle said inadequate equipment also hampers the brigade's ability to properly respond to fires. He said for years his department has been asking for water tanker to ensure that water would always be available to put out fires without any positive response from government. According to the Superintendent there are two fifteen-year-old trucks at the station which are not functioning '100 per cent' and back-up units have to come from Christiana some 12 miles away.
Superintendent Gayle, however, told The Gleaner that if the National Water Commission provided the water needed by his men to put out most fires there would not be so much loss to property owners. He declared that the Brigade "cannot put out fire without water". Although citing a host of other problems within the Brigade that need to be addressed by Government.
In the meantime, the Fire Brigade and the NWC continue to blame each other for the destruction of D&S Auto.
Superintendent Gayle said that if there was water in the nearby hydrant the business place and it contents could have been saved.
However, the NWC has responded that it remains, "steadfastly committed to providing the best possible water supply service to the people of Jamaica, but cannot be held responsible for the inadequacies of others or be blamed for things either beyond its control or outside of its obligations."
