Chief Fire Officer Errol Maynard is appealing to residents and business owners to clean around their properties to avoid disaster.
He made the plea on Monday as he returned to the location where a house fire occurred at Passage Road, St Michael the day before. Next to the site are an abandoned vehicle, deteriorating wood, bird droppings and a bond that houses various chemicals.
Noting that this was a concern for the Barbados Fire Service, Maynard also highlighted that there was another bond nearby that contained unknown items.
“These items, as they deteriorate, with the old wood, card boxes, bird dung, all that…can cause a fire,” he said.
The Chief Fire Officer further warned that should a fire start at any of those abandoned structures which have combustibles, it would pose a challenge for the Barbados Fire Service.
“Therefore, I want to encourage all Barbadians to clean up your place, whether government-owned or privately-owned,” he said, adding that failure to do so creates a significant hazard to the lives and livelihoods of those within range.
Divisional Officer Marlon Small explained that fire officers discovered chemicals were housed in the bond next door to the burning house in Passage Road after being forced to cut the locks in their efforts to extinguish the blaze on Sunday.
He added that in the event there was a fire in the bond, firemen would be challenged with access because of how drums and other items were being stored.
Small said what compounded the situation was that there were other “significant properties” which could be impacted if the situation was not addressed urgently.
(BT/BGIS)
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