The Tribune

KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

FIRE Services Chief Superintendent Kendrick Morris yesterday defended efforts to fight a massive blaze at Jennie Street on Sunday, insisting “water was never an issue”.

While he admitted that fire fighters faced an issue with pressure from a hydrant, he said water was available.

On Monday, residents of the area who returned to rummage through the rubble for anything salvageable told The Tribune they believed their homes could have been saved. They blamed issues with water for there not being a better outcome.

Six homes burned to the ground and four others were damaged in the blaze.

Responding, CSP Morris said: “With any fire there are challenges. Like I’ve said, pressure was a problem coming from the hydrant, but we were getting water. The pressure was not what we would have liked for it to have been, but water was never an issue.”

He was also asked about the response time of trucks to the scene.

“The first fire truck arrived at the scene within four minutes of the call. I don’t know if you would call that a delay. Four minutes from the police headquarters, that’s a quick response.

“When the officers arrive on the scene, each fire hydrant supplies 1,000 gallons of water at any given time.

“Feel free to visit the fire department at any given time and I will show you what goes on here.

“The trucks after every call do not come back to base without doing a fill up. So, that is never an issue. The truck cannot be parked at base without water so whenever they respond they respond with water at any given time.

“We have three trucks in service, and they carry 1,000 gallons of water. We also have a pumper that carries 2,000 gallons of water.”

Similar claims about water were also made by vendors at Potter’s Cay when they faced devastation last month.

However, the fire chief dispelled these claims.

“At Potter’s Cay Dock we were hooked up to a fire hydrant and we had unlimited supply of water. So, water was not an issue there.”

As for maintenance of water hydrants, CSP Morris said issues, once discovered, are reported to the Ministry of Public Works. His department also has a team of officers who regularly check hydrants.

“Now that’s the Ministry of Works’ responsibility to service and maintain those hydrants, but we have a water supply crew within the fire department that checks those also and if we have any concerns, we usually report it to Ministry of Works right away, but we have a team of officers that checks them on a regular basis and the ministry has a team that checks them on a regular basis.

“But, like I say, sometimes the pressure may not be ideal or what you would like it to be, but we know which ones are working and which ones are not working. Once we discover ones that are not working, we report it and the Ministry of Works along with us in a timely fashion fix it.”

Robyn Rolle was among those Jennie Street residents who believed her home could have been saved on Sunday.

Ms Rolle told this newspaper on Monday: “When I came here at two o’clock (Sunday) I met two fire engines leaving and I was told that they came and they wasn’t accessible to water and then we pulled up that’s when the third fire truck came, and they were looking for a fire hydrant, but we have one that’s exactly across the road from our house.

“With them doing no checks for that, it’s been empty apparently for years. So, when they did get it open, just dust and rust came out of it,” she claimed.

“So, somebody I feel should be held accountable because our house could’ve been saved. I’m not saying it’s political… What sense it makes having an empty fire hydrant? It makes no sense or sending fire trucks that can’t (access) to water.”

Stephen Swaby also made a similar claim. He lost everything in the fire.

“I think (the) person who’s in charge when they bring the fire engine, they should’ve bring enough water because my understanding, the truck came without no water, but then someone said the truck came but only with little bit of water,” he said.