Scores of students from schools in Kingston, St Andrew, and St Catherine participated in an Open Day and Expo hosted by the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) at the waterfront, downtown Kingston on November 2.

The event was part of activities to mark Fire Safety Awareness Week, which was observed under the theme ‘Empowering our People for a Fire-Safe Jamaica’.

Acting assistant commissioner at the JFB Emilio Ebanks stated that the open day and expo provided an opportunity for the brigade to sensitise the students and the wider public about fire safety.

“Children, they are our future, and therefore we have to do as much as we can to change the culture of our society and make us more fire safe,” he stated.

Assistant commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade Sean Martin told JIS News that the Open Day was a crucial tool for the agency as it gives the organisation an opportunity to showcase the various skills set of firefighters.

“We want the public to see exactly what we do. When it comes to an accident, sometimes people think we take too long to extricate a victim, but we have things to do before we can. So simulating this on the open day, persons will have an understanding of exactly what are the steps we have to take before removing a victim,” he said.

“We want to build that kind of a culture for persons to look forward to so that they can feel closer to the fire department and have more confidence in us,” he noted.

People who attended the expo were provided with information on fire safety. They were also taught the proper way to use a fire extinguisher, basic first aid, and to conduct light search and rescue.

— JIS