Jamaica Fire Brigade – Celebrating 150 Years

One hundred and fifty years ago, the Jamaica Fire Service was established after the city of Kingston was affected by a series of large fires. The service was officially launched in October 1871 to address the country’s need for an organised fire service.

The first fire brigade was established under the Kingston and St. Andrew Fire Brigade Act with others forming across the country under the Parochial Fire Brigade Act. Until 1988 when the Fire Brigade Act replaced the other Acts, Jamaica had 13 separate brigades. These brigades were brought under a central command known as the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) in 1995.

As could be expected, after 150 years many things have changed about the fire service as it evolved to meet the needs of the changing Jamaican population. Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade Stewart Beckford, reflects on where the current service is coming from and some changes the brigade has undergone.

“The service has evolved from what was then – a horse-drawn buggy service to where we are now using modern firefighting equipment and some of the latest units that you can find anywhere in the world. We have witnessed the transformation of the service to the point where we now have a fire service that is equipped and ready to respond to all eventualities,” Commissioner Beckford shares.

He adds that the most notable achievement of the service would be the transformation it has undergone over the period of its existence. This includes the offering of additional services such as the Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

“Our EMS service would have been one of those that started in 1996. We started with five locations then and we are currently at nine with the hope of expanding into other areas at least before the end of this financial year. We are looking to add two sites in St. Ann – Ocho Rios and St. Ann’s Bay,” discloses the Head of the JFB.

The EMS is the arm of the JFB that provides pre-hospital care and ambulance services from the fire stations. The Brigade, committed to its mandate of saving lives and protecting property, has also become more involved in their communities and all stages of property and life protection.

“We also saw an expansion in our fire prevention activities where we are doing building plans, subdivisions and our inspection of special facilities – offices, schools, hospitals and so on. We would have gotten more involved in those and broadened our reach where all 13 divisions are carrying out these activities,” explains Mr. Beckford.

The fire prevention activities also include the JFB’s campaigns such as ‘Mek Wi Fix It’ which targets reducing child fire-related deaths and their Fire Wardens clubs in schools. The JFB also conducts trainings with the pubic and observes fire drills conducted by schools and businesses.

In 2021 the JFB also celebrates 25 years of commemorating Fire and Life Safety Awareness Week. During this week the brigade takes the message of fire safety to the public in their homes, schools and businesses and through the use of media. Community members are engaged in the spread of safe fire practices and fire prevention tips. The JFB also developed the Community Bush Fire Management Education Programme for residents of areas most affected by fires like farming communities in Mavis Bank, upper St. Andrew, St. Elizabeth and so many others across the island.

“In 2015 there was a massive fire in Mavis Bank and out of that the JFB coined a programme, got some sponsors and we went in and educated and trained those individuals. Since that time there has not been a single major fire in that area. These same individuals are the ones that continue the education process,” adds JFB Public Relations Officer, Emeleo Ebanks.

The Jamaica Fire Brigade has partnered with entities such as the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) to teach farmers alternatives to burning and how to respond to forest fires. They have also distributed backpack pumps to farmers in St. Elizabeth to extinguish small bush fires and are developing a Bush Fire Warning Index in collaboration with the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.

The JFB has also modernised its training routines, ensuring that firefighters are kept up-to-date with the latest techniques, tactics and technologies in medical services, firefighting and rescue. Mr. Ebanks shares that to be in a constant state of readiness, firefighters are always in training and learning new things such as extrication from and extinguishing hybrid vehicles.

“Our modernised training techniques include, but are not limited to, high angle and confines space rescue, vehicular extrication, swift and still water rescue as well as marine firefighting,” says Mr. Ebanks.

Adding to that, Commissioner Beckford commends the men and women of the brigade and credits their resourcefulness as one of the reasons for the JFB being where it is today.

“These men and women find that extra strength and extra gear to push beyond that boundary and continue to work … Our firefighters are resourceful. They will, from time to time, do unconventional things just to get the job done because the people of Jamaica are relying on us. We will get creative and do whatever it is to save a life and prevent somebody’s property from getting destroyed. So, commitment, dedication to work [and] courage – these are some of the hallmarks that describe our firefighters today,” the Commissioner expresses.

That dedication and commitment is what keep fire fighters going each time they pray the fire fighters’ prayer and leave their station to respond to an emergency call.

For the 5-year period 2016-2020, the JFB received 62,887 calls, 5,774 of which were malicious calls from both children and adults alike, which the brigade must treat as an emergency situation, regardless. This put a strain on the resources of the brigade and is a practice that the JFB asks the public to discontinue.

Instead, they invite members of the public to visit their nearest fire station and become familiar with the services offered by the brigade.

“If you are passing a fire station there is always information to be received and you never know when that information will come in handy. Visit a fire station, ask the questions, get the relevant information. It may very well mean the difference between life and death,” urges Mr. Ebanks.

The Jamaica Fire Brigade currently has over 2,100 officers in its ranks and plans to increase that number in the future. Their 150^th anniversary commemoration carries on into 2022 with continued modernisation as the brigade aims to continue delivering world class service to the island.