Abrahams promises to tackle fire service issues

Home Affairs Minister Wilfred Abrahams declared his intention to tackle lingering issues of promotions and staffing in the Barbados Fire Service among others as he met with the firefighting top brass on Friday.

Abrahams made the commitment while on tour at the Arch Hall, St Thomas fire station along with Permanent Secretary Deborah Payne and Director of Public Affairs, Pat Parris.

He told fire service officials: “We have to try to work with you to give you the things that we can give, to allow you to function as best you can.

“I am going to push hard to try to get the promotions sorted.”

During the visit, they were updated on the service’s operations by Chief Fire Officer Errol Maynard, Deputy Fire Chief Henderson Patrick and the senior command team of the fire station which also houses the fire service’s training centre, the Fire Academy.

Maynard used the opportunity to press home some of the challenges being faced by the service, including outstanding staffing issues.

But while acknowledging the firefighters’ needs Abrahams told the service’s managers that they were unlikely to have all of their requests met owing to challenges facing Government.

Abrahams said: “The reality is, right is right and wrong is wrong and you can’t have people acting forever. You have no job security; people need some degree of certainty, it must affect morale.”

The fire service high command and the ministry officials also discussed the construction of a new headquarters at The Pine, St. Michael, where the fire service moved from the since-demolished Probyn Street site after nearly 70 years.

With the fire service’s absence for the first time in The City’s history, the officials also discussed the establishment of a fire service presence at the Bridgetown Port.

The newly appointed minister for the fire service praised the operations at Arch Hall and commended the officers after a tour during which he rode on one of the fire appliances.

He said: “I really appreciate the opportunity for me to tour this fire station.

“I didn’t realise how high-tech fire, and fire response have become. I am very impressed by the station. I understand that it is the newest of our stations, so this is really the standard that we need now to be trying to bring the rest of the stations up to.”

Saying he was also impressed by the academy, the minister gave an assurance that he would do his best to help elevate the fire station to be the best in Barbados and Caribbean.

“We have to maximise what we do have. You have an excellent facility; you have excellent trainers; you have excellent staff,” he said. “Let us see how we can best utilise what we have to get the maximum result for the Fire Service.”

During the tour, Abrahams toured the control room and other areas of the station. He also saw the physical distancing protocols in place in the barracks for recruits currently undergoing training, and had a look at the classrooms and the virtual set-up that currently exists at the Fire Academy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.