Fire Chief Raises Concern About False Calls

Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), Stewart Beckford, is imploring members of the public to desist from making false fire calls.

He said that these calls put an unnecessary strain on resources, noting that vehicles have been damaged as firefighters rush to respond to what they believed to be genuine alarms.

The Fire Commissioner said that over the period 2014 to 2018 the fire brigade responded to more than 6,000 false alarms.

“We can’t sit at our stations when we get a call. We have to respond once we receive a call,” he noted.

He was speaking at the launch of Fire and Life Safety Awareness Week 2019 on Friday (Oct. 25), at the Police Officers’ Club in St. Andrew.

Meanwhile, the Fire Commissioner is appealing for persons to be more vigilant in preventing fires in the home.

“Simple safety measures could have prevented, if not all, most of these fires,” he said.

He noted that many fires result from children playing with flammable items and so urged parents and guardians to ensure that children are properly supervised and are not left at home by themselves.

Fire and Life Safety Awareness Week will run from October 27 to November 2, under the theme: ‘Mek Wi Fix It…Community First.’

The Fire Commissioner said that over 90 communities will be impacted through various sensitisation activities.

He said that focus will be placed on getting persons to be more aware of the dangers of fires and what they can do to reduce and prevent them.

For her part, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Marsha Henry-Martin, said that the activities, which will take place across the island, will be educational and participation from community members is encouraged.

She urged the public to help protect fire hydrants as they “often make the difference between life and death.”