More bush fires in Jacks Hill
AT least two new bush fires blazed in sections of affluent Jacks Hill in St Andrew, yesterday afternoon, following Saturday’s large blaze along the adjacent community of Skyline Drive.
As one fire raged in the rural sections of Jacks Hill, no fire brigade was in sight.
When contacted, the York Town fire station told the Observer it had received no reports about a fire in the community.
“We have not got any calls about a fire in Jacks Hill,” said Roy Williams, assistant superintendent at the York Town station. “But we got a call about a fire in Stony Hill.”
The Half Way Tree station, he added, had responded to the Stony Hill blaze and brought it under control.
Attempts to check if the Half Way Tree station planned to also deal with the Jacks Hall blaze were unsuccessful as the Observer’s calls to the station went unanswered.
While no homes appeared immediately at risk, the hillside billowed with smoke carried by an afternoon breeze.
Residents in a community close to Peter Rock Road in Jacks Hill did not wait on the fire men – they put out one small blaze there themselves.
Yesterday’s fires come on the heels of the temporary evacuation of residents of 9a Skyline Mews, Saturday afternoon, as a hillside fire that crept up from both sides of the hill threatened the premises. The property was not damaged, but during the scramble to evacuate the building, at least one piece of art and a car were damaged.
Damian Simms, caretaker for the apartments, said the fire was started by a farmer who tried to fight it by himself. It eventually got out of control.
“This is the third fire around the house in 10 years,” Simms said.
The Half Way Tree fire station fought the blaze. Residents Nickesia Hutchinson and Lisa Esly said that no one answered their calls to the fire brigade, forcing residents to ask the police to contact the fire station.
The residents said a number of firemen were injured, but not seriously, while fighting the blaze.
“The truck driver’s face was burnt,” said Hutchinson, adding that the firefighters were obviously hampered by a lack of resources.
The fire service has been allocated $1.7 billion, (an increase of 24 per cent over the 2003/2004 fiscal year) but of that amount, $551 million will be used to clear arrears in statutory payments. In effect, it has $200 million less than the previous fiscal year and, by Local Government Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s estimation, there is a $337 million shortfall in the fire services budget.
