$70 Million Upgrading of Annotto Bay Fire Station Underway

Upgrading work, valued at $70 million, is currently underway at the Annotto Bay Fire Station in St. Mary.

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, made the disclosure, while addressing the hand over ceremony for the new $258 million Port Maria Fire Station in the parish on Friday (Jan. 13).

He noted that the Government is making major investment in building out the services provided by the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB).

He said that come March, the new and improved Black River Fire Station in St. Elizabeth will be activated, and work is to commence on the Balaclava Fire Station also in the parish.

Last year, the $580 million JFB Area 4 Headquarters in Montego Bay, St. James and the $162.6 million Yallahs Fire Station in St. Thomas, built under the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP), were officially opened.

Minister McKenzie noted that while Government provides the necessary infrastructure and resources to bolster the services of the JFB, Jamaicans must take greater responsibility in preventing fires and ensuring their personal safety.

“I want to make it clear that increasing the effectiveness of the JFB and the expansion of its footprint across the country, is not to be interpreted as a substitute for community responsibility and personal responsibility to be set aside.

“The Government is doing its part…our citizens must do their part. Greater personal responsibility is needed to achieve major sustainable reduction in fires,” Mr. McKenzie said.