Prime Minister Reopens Rehabilitated Black River Fire Station

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on Wednesday (February 21), officially reopened the rehabilitated Black River Fire Station in St. Elizabeth which was renovated at a cost of $60 million.

The scope of works included the complete rehabilitation and expansion of the existing building, erecting perimeter fencing, paving of the compound and drainage improvements.

In his address, Mr. Holness emphasised the impact proper fire facilities have on the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s (JFB) ability to respond to emergencies.

“If your fire brigade is not appropriately housed, their ability to respond will be limited, if at all. So it must have been of grave concern for the 60 communities that make up the region for which this fire brigade would supervise. I am talking about as far as to… Whitehouse [in Westmoreland], to communities such as New Market, Holland, Pedro Cross, Flagaman, Turtle Beach, Middle Quarters and Luana [in St. Elizabeth]… all of these are important communities,” he said.

“They have significant businesses, all of them pay taxes, and it would have been a travesty if anything were to happen to homes and businesses and because of limited capabilities, we were not able to respond,” Mr. Holness added.

The Prime Minister further underscored the station’s importance, outlining that the facility responded to some 1,459 calls last year.

Mr. Holness also emphasised that a fire station is an important symbol of community, which must be in place when towns, cities and administrative departments are established.

“It is an important element of public administration that there are emergency services. So, you have to establish your police, you have to establish your city government, and you have to establish your emergency response, which is effectively your fire brigade,” the Prime Minister said.

For his part, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, said the Black River Fire Station adds to the list of facilities which have been rehabilitated or constructed under the current Administration since 2018.

He informed that a record $1.1 billion has been spent on the Montego Bay Fire Station in St. James, the Old Harbour Fire Station in St. Catherine, Port Maria Fire Station in St. Mary and Yallahs Fire Station in St. Thomas.

The Minister added that work is well advanced on the new Ulster Spring Fire Station in Trelawny, which is being constructed at a cost of $153 million.

Commissioner of the JFB, Stewart Beckford, commended the team at the Black River Fire Station for working in less-than-ideal conditions over the years.

He said the facility’s transformation should boost the firefighters’ morale and improve service delivery to the communities served by the station.