- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 08/08/2024 06:40

Union: Fire service ‘on brink of collapse’

Fire Service Association president Keone Guy is warning that the TT Fire Service is on the brink of "absolute and total collapse," as many stations have no suitable trucks, and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and adequate resources has led to dozens of officers being injured in the line of duty for the year. Guy told Newsday there is a wide range of issues plaguing the service, leaving it in a state of emergency. For one, he said nine of the 23 stations around the country are without firefighting-capable tenders. Six are in the Northern Division, which includes the Chaguaramas, Four Roads, Belmont, Woodbrook, Morvant and Santa Cruz fire stations. While there is a truck at the Santa Cruz station, he said it is unable to respond to fires. "Even if today there is a fire close by to that station or in a close proximity, you're still relying on the San Juan Fire Station to mount a response." He said the truck assigned to the Santa Cruz station is a hazardous-materials truck which is used by the land search and rescue team. "They are unable to operate as a traditional fire station." He said the Princes Town, Mayaro and Roxborough fire stations are also among those without tenders. The dilapidated and rat-infested Princes Town Fire Station was closed on July 11 after officers walked out. The staff and appliances were split between the Rio Claro and Penal fire stations. Guy said although authorities had visited the station, the association has not received official word on how it would be dealt with. Additionally, he said the fire service's fleet of vehicles is aged, with many trucks being around 20 years old. "You would imagine that with any type of mechanical appliance that you have undergoing 24-hour operations, that after two decades in operation, it would definitely lose efficiency and begin to break down even more frequently." He also said around 80 per cent of stations around the country do not have backup or standby generators, and this compromises the service's ability to respond to natural disasters like hurricanes. "There are critical equipment we have, like even our communication sets, that need to be charged constantly. " He said this scenario, in which fire stations have no functional standby power system, "Be that generator or otherwise, speaks to me (of) a form of negligence and disregard for the safety of not just the fire officers, but the members of the public who we would be unable to respond to, if we are not even able to take their calls via these emergency sets." Compounding the issues, he said the ongoing lack of PPE has led to some 40 officers being injured on the job. He estimated half of these injuries were from smoke inhalation. While responding to one incident, seven officers suffered from it. Other injuries, he said, resulted from being involved in vehicular accidents. On January 18, firemen Korie Perouse and Mathew Mc Sween were thrown from the bucket of their lift when the hydraulics failed while fighting a fire in Belmont. While their fall arrestors kept them attached to the bucket and from landing on a nearby roof, the men were hospitalised with broken bones and tissue damage. Guy said the time has come for Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds to "take the proverbial bull by the horns" and address these issues. "We need priority. We need emergency funding. We need a specialised committee set up to identify and...come up with solutions to these problems. "This is an emergency here. The fire service is in a state of emergency. We are on the brink of absolute and total collapse." He asked the public to support the association in its appeal. Calls and WhatsApp messages to Hinds went unanswered. However, a statement from the TT Fire Service (TTFS) called Guy's claims "erroneous and misleading." It said the TTFS was in the process of procuring additional breathing apparatus and was in the process of installing backup generators at all fire stations. "To date, generators have been installed and made fully operational at the Port of Spain, Savonetta, and Chaguanas Fire Stations, with ongoing plans to complete this upgrade at all remaining stations." It added: "The TT Fire Service remains unwavering in its commitment to the community, continuously working to ensure readiness and effectiveness in all aspects of its operations. The TTFS stands resolute in its mission to safeguard lives and property, as it always has and will continue to do, to meet the needs of our citizenry, as obligated by our legislative mandate." The statement did not address Guy's claims about a shortage of fire trucks. The post Union: Fire service ‘on brink of collapse’ appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.