HOW THE FIRE SERVICE IS RUN LIKE A PARLOUR

THROUGHOUT the life of the Keith Rowley Administration, fire- fighters have been complaining about gross under-funding of the service.

In 2018, for example, the Fire Officers’ Association groused that the government had “under-provided for the needs” of the service.

The association said there was a chronic shortage of manpower and equipment and that several fire trucks and other essentials were in a dilapidated state.

In that year, Finance Minister Colm Imbert decreased the allocation to the fire service.

In recent years, the association has pleaded its case with National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds.

Before Hinds landed the portfolio, stirring appeals were made to then-Security Minister Stuart Young.

Ahead of the 2023-24 budget, the association warned that “the service is running at an all-time low.”

An official said the essential service was being operated “like a parlour, like a mom-and-pop shop.”

At that time, the recently-constructed Penal and Mayaro fire stations – and five longstanding units – had no appliances.

Even with insufficient safety gear, Penal officers ran into a burning home earlier this year to rescue occupants.

The stations at Point Fortin, Belmont, Morvant, Woodbrook and Chaguaramas lack critical gear.

Up to a few months ago, only four stations had functional jaws-of-life tools.

Construction of the Siparia station cost $71 million in 2020 but there are insufficient safety gears.

The association asked: “Is it incompetence or negligence?”

Although Imbert titled his current budget “Steadfast and Resolute,” he slashed the funding for new fire vehicles and appliances from $11.4 million to $4 million.

The association said it was “tremendously concerned,”

A $4 million allocation “demonstrates that the government is not taking this aspect of public safety seriously,” association boss Malcolm Guy protested.

In September 2023 senior citizen Malcolm Diaz died in a house fire at Santa Cruz, close to an under-resourced station.

And still the authorities made no effort to provide adequate resources to fire-fighters.

Guy said a few months ago that “we have highlighted the shortcomings within the organisation and the challenges that we have with vehicles…”

More than 80 per cent of stations reportedly lack portable pumps and there is a shortage of functional hoses, breathing apparatus, rescue vests, lines, harnesses and other resources.

Earlier this year, a mechanical failure led to two officers being flung from a skylift after a metal arm collapsed.

In his deadpan manner, Hinds has insisted that the fire service is not in the desperate situation as outlined by the officers who operate the system.

The parliamentary opposition has repeatedly exposed the state of the service and called for the provision of essential equipment and adequate staff.

“The fire service has never been more ill-equipped,” Dr. Roodal Moonilal said a few months ago.

Moonilal called on the government to reallocate non-essential funds, including foreign travel, to properly equip the fire service.

Mayaro MP Rushton Paray campaigned for a fire truck in the south-earn district, especially amid home, business and bush fires.

While the Mayaro station was without a tender, several people – including Steve Bain – depended on bucket brigades to put out blazes at their respective homes.

That shocking state of affairs has been reawakened with the horrendous deaths of Government Minister Lisa Morris-Julian and her two children at the family’s Farfan Street, Arima home.

Fire tenders were deployed elsewhere while the family perished, the association explained.

When an appliance arrived, it was too late to save the minister and her children.

The fire service “is on the brink of collapse,” Guy said, “with many stations lacking suitable trucks and essential personal protective equipment.”

It is a sad song that fire-fighters have been singing for years.

Even with the minister’s horrific death, there are no assurances from the authorities to bring the fire service up to the required strength.