Headlines:
| New fire trucks to finally be used |
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| Saturday, 04 July 2009 | |
 After being left idle in
an open lot in Portmore, St. Catherine for more than a year, eight new fire
trucks are to be deployed to divisions across the country.The trucks will be assigned to stations in the Corporate Area, St. James and St. Ann. Deputy Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade Errol Mowatt says the delay was due to problems with the size and the weight of the trucks. He says Cabinet has now signed off on the permit for the trucks to be released to the fire service.  "They required special
permits which were not issued and the matter had to be taken to Cabinet issued
instructions for the special permit to be issued so that the special units can
be released to the fire brigade for operations. There have also been recommendation
for some retro-fitting but those retro-fittings have to be programmed and will
take place over time but in the meantime, the trucks will be released to the
Jamaica Fire Brigade," said Mr. Mowatt. The matter was discussed this week at a meeting involving officials of the St. Catherine Parish Council and State Minister for Local Government, Robert Montague. Councillor pleads for fire station in Maggoty Meanwhile, Errol Hummingbird, Councillor for the Ipswich Division in St. Elizabeth has renewed calls for a fire station to be constructed in Maggotty. Mr. Hummingbird says a fire station would go a far way in saving life and property in the hilly section of northern St. Elizabeth. According to him, it currently takes a fire unit travelling from Black River or Santa Cruz more than 40 minutes to reach Maggotty and adjoining areas. Councillor Hummingbird says there is adequate land space and water on the site of the old Revere bauxite plant to accommodate a fire station. In the interim, Councillor Hummingbird has called for the setting up of a temporary post in Maggotty until funds can be identified for the construction of the station. Last year, the St. Elizabeth Parish Council passed a resolution calling on the Fire Department and the Ministry of Local Government to construct a fire station. The call was made after fire destroyed several houses. |