Fire Brigade Focused On ‘Fixing Mindsets’
By: , October 31, 2019The Key Point:
Photo: Serena Grant
Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Homer Davis (right) and Chief Executive Officer of the St. James Municipal Corporation, Gerald Lee (second right), looks at firefighting equipment on display, during the Jamaica Fire Brigade's (JFB) Awareness and Health Fair in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay, on Tuesday (Oct. 29). Superintendent of the JFB’s St. James Division, Dolphin Doeman (third right), points out some of the tools, while Assistant Commissioner at the JFB – Area 4, Floyd McLean (fouirth right), and other firefighters look on.
Photo: Serena Grant
Sergeant at the Jamaica Fire Brigade St. James Division (JFB) Orane Forbes (centre) speaks to members of the public about fire safety, during the JFB’s Awareness and Health Fair at Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay, on Tuesday (October 29).The Facts
- This is in keeping with the theme for Fire and Life Safety Awareness Week 2019, which is being observed from October 27 to November 2, under the theme 'Mek Wi Fix it: Community Firs’.'
- The Assistant Commissioner, who was speaking to JIS News at the JFB’s Awareness and Health Fair in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay on Tuesday (October 29), said the objective is to change behaviours being practised by residents in communities across the island that pose a threat to fire safety.
The Full Story
Assistant Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) Area 4, Floyd McLean, says the agency is focused on “fixing mindsets” in order to prevent fires.
This is in keeping with the theme for Fire and Life Safety Awareness Week 2019, which is being observed from October 27 to November 2, under the theme ‘Mek Wi Fix it: Community Firs’.’
The Assistant Commissioner, who was speaking to JIS News at the JFB’s Awareness and Health Fair in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay on Tuesday (October 29), said the objective is to change behaviours being practised by residents in communities across the island that pose a threat to fire safety.
“We are fixing the mindset of leaving children alone, and that stealing electricity and not wiring houses properly can create problems that we have to respond to. We believe that fixing these things at the community level can bring positive results,” he said.
He noted further that the brigade wants to rid persons of the notion that children “as small as 10, nine or eight years old can prepare their own meals and do their own ironing, without supervision”.
For his part, Superintendent of the JFB’s St. James Division, Dolphin Doeman, told JIS News that a number of communities in the parish will be visited throughout the week.
On Thursday (October 31), firefighters will be in Dumfries and will also stage a simulation exercise at the Montego Bay Community College as well as fire drills at businesses located in and around the city to ensure that they are fire safety compliant.
Members of the brigade will attend devotions at schools across the parish on Thursday and Friday (November 1).
Among entities participating in the fair were St. James Public Health Services, the Jamaica Red Cross and the Blood Bank.