More attention should be paid to fire safety
Consumer Concerns
By Eileen Cox
Stabroek News
January 4, 2004
With two disastrous fires in less than two months it is time for all consumers to take note of reports in the press and statements made by the current and former chief fire officers.
At the time of writing there is a debate as to where responsibility lies for the maintenance of hydrants. The Fire Chief does not accept responsibility: the legal adviser of the Guyana Water Inc advises that the Water and Sewerage Act does not place responsibility in the hands of GWI.
While the debate continues let me say that in Trinidad and Tobago the Chief Fire Officer has the responsibility of maintaining the fire hydrants. In that territory they also have salt water mains.
While I worked with the Federal Government of the West Indies I stayed with my brother who at the time was in charge of the Fire Services there. He was appointed after a long course of training in the United Kingdom. His residence, a government house, was next door to the Fire Station on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain. The firemen were always on the alert. At the sound of a fire alarm a fire tender was manned and, at the word "Go" they were gone, down Wrightson Road, with sirens blazing and vehicles pulling aside to clear the road for their quick passage.
If we look at the Guyana situation we will see how different it is. We do not know where the Fire Chief lives but certainly it is not next door to the Fire Station in George-town.
Then there is the blockage outside the Stabroek Market. It is shocking to note how vendors have been allowed to sell their wares on the road, impeding the passage of shoppers. I cannot visualize fire tenders making their way through that area.
On that fatal Friday when fire razed Muneshwers Ltd I was about to enter Fogarty's at about 4.45 pm when my attention was drawn to the black smoke emitting from the roof at the southern end of the building. It was hard to believe that this was happening when all around was so quiet and peaceful. Evidently the fire was already well established.
Flames erupted and still there was no fire engine in the area. I turned away, shocked and saddened, and still more shocked and saddened when I saw the excitement in the faces of those consumers who were hastening to have a first-hand view of the fire. Even a toddler caught the fever and was running towards the scene with his mother trailing behind.
To many people, a fire seems to be the greatest show on earth. They give no thought to the fact that when a businessman loses his investment we all lose. Imported goods are going up in flames and more US dollars will be demanded for replacements. The exchange rate worsens and we all suffer.
Let us look at some of the recommendations that have been made for a fire service that can fight major fires. The fire chief, as reported in Sunday Stabroek, December 21, informed the Disciplined Forces Commission that he needed more firemen, more equipment, more fire stations, better salaries to keep men on the job.
The former fire chief, as reported in Stabroek News of December 22, observed that the fire tenders cannot hold the volume of water needed to tackle serious fires and the GWI cannot provide that volume of water. He saw the need for a fire boat, a turntable ladder or a hydraulic platform to allow fire fighters to extinguish fires from the top. He alluded to the fact that vehicles no longer move aside on the roads to give fire tenders free passage.
These are issues that concern the government, the business community, insurance companies, trade unions, and, indeed, all consumers, for not only are there major fires, but small fires that leave families without a home and worldly possessions. And, of course, we have to think of the number of persons who lose employment when a business goes up in flames.
The operations of the Guyana Fire Service concern us all and we look forward to immediate action being taken to correct what can be corrected without delay and to plan for a better provision of fire-fighting equipment. One would hope that there are enough tenders, firemen and water available not only to fight the actual blaze but to protect the buildings on either side of the fire. It was devastating to hear that Subway and other buildings on the northern end of Muneshwers went up in flames.
With the media keeping this issue on the front burner we hope to have steps taken early to avoid future total devastation by fire.
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