The $2.85 million fire station on the compound of the Bridgetown Port is nearing completion, and officials are touting it as a complement to the state-of-the-art fire station being built in Prince Road, The Pine, St Michael.
During an inspection tour of the facility on Tuesday morning, Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs Wilfred Abrahams joined officials of the Barbados Fire Service and the Bridgetown Port to get a first-hand view of developments.
Chief Fire Officer with the Barbados Fire Service Errol Maynard told members of the media that the Port Side Fire Station will be outfitted with a large fire tender and a small one, as well as a hazmat vehicle to respond to hazardous emergency calls.
Maynard noted that the construction of the fire station, which started two years ago with completion initially set for the first quarter of this year, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he said it should be open in a matter of weeks.
The facility will initially have a staff of 23 working over four shifts.
“We are working with the Government. We need to get some additional staff for down here but what we will do initially is that we will separate some of the Bridgetown staff to be able to accommodate the opening here,” explained Maynard.
The Barbados Fire Service currently has a staff of just over 220. Maynard said the ideal number would be just over 260.
Minister Abrahams said the fire station at the port will complement the one in the Pine, St Michael, doubling the capacity of the fire station to respond to fires and other hazardous emergencies in the central division.
It will also support the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Ambulance Service to provide emergency first-response medical care where required.
“The intention is to have a unit stationed here that is capable of responding to a fire at the Port but also to deal with any medical issues that may arise here at the Port until the full medical team gets here,” Abrahams said.
“This is not limited to the Port. The appliance is also going to be available to respond to fires in the Bridgetown area . . . . The medical response team is also going to be available to respond to medical emergencies in Bridgetown.”
Abrahams explained that during the opening of the facility, officials would outline the parameters for the Port Side Fire Station’s response.
“Our principal responsibility is to the Port. So we have to have limits as to how far we are willing to extend outside of that to be able to still properly service the Port and not compromise our operations here,” he said.
Declaring that he was proud of officials of the Bridgetown Port and the Fire Service for the initiative, the Home Affairs Minister said he hoped it would allay the fear of individuals who were concerned about the decision to move the fire station from Probyn Street, The City, to The Pine, and the impact on the response time of officers particularly to incidents in St Michael.
The fire station is located at the former mechanical shop at the Port, close to the main entrance, and will be powered by solar panels.
Chief Operations Officer at the Barbados Port Inc. Ian Stewart said while there have been no fire or hazard emergencies at the Bridgetown Port to date, it was still necessary to have a fire station on the location.
“For some time, this aspect of the Port activity was somewhat left out. There was not an immediate fire response. We have placed this here to not only enhance the fire protection of the Port, but surely it also gives our staff a bit of comfort as it relates to the response they can get from a medical standpoint, for chemical hazard, as well as the overall safety and security of the Port,” said Stewart.
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