JFB Expands Fire Safety Initiative to High Schools

The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) has expanded its fire-safety initiative to include high schools across the island.

Building on the Fire Wardens Club in Schools programme, the JFB is now training high-school students to serve as Fire-Safety Wardens, empowering them with the skills to lead and respond to emergencies.

“We have now gone into the high schools. We were focused heavily on the primary schools but we are now in the high schools, and what we are doing [is] a little bit different from what we are doing in the primary schools. We are not launching clubs in the high schools, we are training safety monitors or fire-safety wardens as we sometimes refer to them,” said Commissioner, JFB, Stewart Beckford, during an interview with JIS News.

He noted that going into high schools, the JFB has access to mature students, who can play a significant role in assisting with any emergency that may occur within the space.

“Whether it is an earthquake or fire, God forbid, then they will be able to take charge and evacuate the students from the school, get them to the assembly point, do the count-off, make sure that everybody is accounted for and so on,” Commissioner Beckford explained.

The students are also taught how to use a fire extinguisher.

“We expect them to take whatever knowledge they gain from these training exercises home and impart that to their parents [and] to their community members,” the Fire Chief added.

Commissioner Beckford informed that at the end of 2024, over 200 students across 10 high schools were trained.

“We also trained [and certified] 50 Deans of Discipline last year as safety monitors, because they have a very important role to play in the school. So, we are working through them to get the message out,” Mr. Beckford added.

He further indicated that for this year, the aim is to get into as many schools as possible.

“We are currently in the Corporate Area – Kingston and St. Andrew (KSA) – because a lot of schools are concentrated in this area and this is where we see most of the fires taking place,” said the Commissioner.

He pointed out that while St. Catherine is the most active parish in terms of fires and has taken over from KSA in the last three years, the Corporate Area has been the site of more consequential fires with significant losses.

By increasing the number of trained fire-safety wardens in high schools, the JFB hopes to build capacity for managing these emergencies effectively.

The initiative is being done in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth, Skills and Information.