Better Working Conditions For Fire Service

Attorney-General and Minister of Home Affairs, Freundel Stuart is pledging that the Government will do all in its power to give firefighters the best working environment.

He gave this assurance at a service yesterday to celebrate the 53rd anniversary of the Barbados Fire Service (BFS) at the St Lucy Parish Church.

Stuart said efforts were underway to improve the physical conditions where fire officers worked and the terms and conditions of their services. He pointed to the renovation of the Airport Fire Station as an example.

"They are an arm of our essential services which play a critical role in disaster management. . . . They have served this country notably [while] being content with modest rewards while serving the country."

Meanwhile acting chief fire officer Anthony Blackman revealed that as of August this year, there have been 76 house fires, 34 commercial buildings blazes, 62 vehicle fires, 1377 grass fires and 173 cane fires.

He said with the establishment of the Fire Prevention Unit, the BFS has intensified its efforts throughout the country with educational outreach programmes.

"We have gone into residential and business communities promoting the benefits of fire safety in order to reduce many of the incidents."

While stressing that little or no attention was sometimes paid to the elderly, the less fortunate, vulnerable and incapacitated, Blackman said a programme was designed to offer some protection for them until help arrives in the event of a fire.

There is a Smoke Detector Programme, carried out in conjunction with the Barbados National Organisation for the Disabled, where the devices are installed in homes.

The BFS theme this year is a Safer and Healthier Community for All. (KB)

Source: www.nationnews.com