Another fire truck down
|
Observer Reporter
Thursday, August 05, 2004
|
A house in Free Town, Clarendon burnt to the ground yesterday and two firefighters were injured when a fire truck, which was on its way to fight the blaze, overturned and broke into two pieces on East Street in Old Harbour at about 11:30 am.
There was no word, up to press time yesterday, about the monetary damage left by the blaze or how many people were left homeless.
One firefighter suffered a broken shoulder and another has been admitted to the Spanish Town Hospital, according to acting district officer Jerome Reid.
With no working fire trucks in neighbouring Portmore and/or Spanish Town, the firefighter said, there was no unit to come to his team's assistance after the accident.
A team from May Pen eventually responded but it was too late.
"We got the call after the Waterford truck overturned, so by the time our unit went on site, the house was already completely destroyed and we could only cool the site," said a firefighter from May Pen who asked not to be identified.
The truck which overturned, one of two working units at the Portmore Waterford Parkway, was totally wrecked.
"The truck is damaged beyond repair, so now St Catherine only has one working vehicle which is from Linstead," said acting district officer Reid. "Neither Portmore nor Spanish Town has working vehicles."
He was not surprised by the accident, he added, as he was well aware of the deficiencies within the island's fire services.
"We often remain silent about the conditions of the trucks to save our jobs, because many times workers know that the trucks may not be 100 per cent, but still send them out because of the shortage and I think that this is one such case," explained Reid. "I'm not sure why it turned over, but the truck is defective".
The accident has once again highlighted the deficiencies in the Jamaica Fire Brigade which is plagued by old and broken-down vehicles and needs about another $637 million to adequately serve the island.
|
|
| Related Articles |
| No
related articles were found |
| |
|
|
| 
