Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
EMBATTLED CHAIRMAN of the Board of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), Delroy Brown, is still in his capacity, despite pledging last year that 2006 would not see him in that position.
The statement came last August after Mr. Brown and members of his board came under heavy fire from several senior officers within the JFB.
The officers insisted that Mr. Brown and the others resign for what they dubbed incompetence, and complacence.
Mr. Brown told The Sunday Gleaner that the dawning of 20006 would not see him in the post of Board Chairman. This has not been the case. Efforts earlier this week to speak with Mr. Brown were unsuccessful.
In the interim, five senior officers will be retiring from the Jamaica Fire Brigade commencing next month.
Acting Commissioner of the JFB, Frederick Whyte, 59, told The Gleaner on Monday that he and four other Assistant Commissioners would be retiring over the next 18 to 24 months.
Acting Commissioner Whyte, who is slated to leave in December, revealed that the first post would be vacated in February and the second in April. The other two Assistant Commissioner posts should be vacated in 2007.
VACATED POSTS
"Most of us will be going by the end of this year, next year and the other year," said Acting Commissioner Whyte, who has almost forty years of service under his fire belt.
In addition to the senior management posts to be vacated, Acting Commissioner Whyte revealed that over the next five to seven years many middle managers will also reach the age of retirement - 60.
"In the next five to seven years a lot of the posts held by divisional heads will be vacated," he said.
SUCCESSION PROGRAMME
However, Mr. Whyte was optimistic that the Brigade would not have difficulty replacing the senior officers, as the Fire Services' succession training programme is in full swing.
Mr. Whyte told The Gleaner that seven persons are currently engaged in the Public Sector Senior Management Programme, a course designed by MIND, to fill the gaps.
Meanwhile, about 50 other employees are engaged in the customised JFB Management Development Programme. Also, the JFB is slated to recruit another 100 fire fighters to add to its complement. Acting Commissioner Whyte said the Brigade needs an additional 200 to get the staff complement up to the acceptable quota.
