By Junior Grandison, Gleaner Writer WESTMORELAND:
THE SAVANNA-LA-MAR fire department came under strong criticism from both Government and Opposition councillors, who voiced their concern that the department is not equipped to deal with a major fire at this time.
These sentiments were shared by the councillors at the monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Parish Council held at the St. George's Anglican Church Hall, Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland on Thursday, January 8.
The councillors made these remarks against the background of a fire which destroyed four houses, two commercial buildings and two kitchens located at Three Beckford Street, Savanna-la-Mar on Tuesday, January 6.
This location is not too far from the fire department.
Twenty-two persons were left homeless, and losses are estimated at $20 million.
The councillors said that if the fire department had proper fire-fighting equipment and a suitable fire unit the losses could have been minimised.
"The parish is faced with a situation where there is need for some urgent improvement in terms of the service delivered by the fire department and, unfortunately, the NWC (National Water Commission)," Mayor Delford Morgan said.
LARGEST NUMBER OF WOODEN HOUSES
The Mayor said Westmoreland has the largest number of wooden houses in the island and is also the largest sugar cane cultivating parish. This parish, Mayor Morgan said, on a yearly basis faces the problem of a number of illicit cane fires.
These two factors, he said, demanded that the fire-fighting capability of the parish be intact to respond to the threat of fire.
Regarding the rapid response truck which is parked at the fire department, the Mayor said this does not improve the fire-fighting capability in the parish because the keys for the truck are kept at the National Water Commission (NWC) and not at the fire department, where they are needed.
The Mayor said he will be appealing to the Ministries involved to ensure that the parish is supplied with adequate fire-fighting machinery and equipment.
Despite the financial constraints at this time, the Mayor said he believes more can be done with the available resources.
Better co-ordination between the relevant Ministries and agencies involved will make the parish and its residents safer, he said.
The fire victims lost all their possessions, Mayor Morgan said. He said he was able to get some help for them from the Disaster Preparedness Co-ordinator Miss Hilma Tate.
The Westmoreland Parish Council is not in a position to supply all the help that the victims need, he said. So he will be seeking additional help for them from Food For the Poor, other agencies and the private sector group within Westmoreland, which he said have already started to respond positively.
He further said he will be making a concerted effort to make sure that whatever can be done to ease their current plight is done.
The Deputy Superintendent of the Savanna-la-Mar fire department, Homer Morris, said he hopes that they will be able to resuscitate most of the fire units across the parish and to source new units and he is expecting that his department will soon get a new unit.
