KINGSTON, Jamaica — For the first time in its history, the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) will be installing a modern, first-world electronic Records Management System (RMS).

The announcement was made on Tuesday by the Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, during his contribution to the 2024/25 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.

“This has massive implications for the quality of the already high levels of service being provided by the agency. In addition to providing inventory management, this system will streamline the JFB’s entire building inspection process for properties, including inspection schedules, reports of violations, and compliance tracking,” McKenzie explained.

He outlined that the RMS will store building plans islandwide into an electronic database, thus giving firefighters quick access to floor plans and fire escape routes.

“It will provide live tracking of fire personnel and equipment to ensure maximum safety and efficiency. It will create and manage our firefighters’ shift schedules, including overtime and leave requests, thereby ensuring the efficient rotation of these front-line employees and preventing undue stress and burnout,” said McKenzie.

“Just as critically, it will manage emergency calls, log them, specify the nature and priority of incidents, and dispatch the appropriate personnel and equipment,” the minister added.

McKenzie said five modules of the new RMS are presently being tested.

“This is a total game-changer in the life of the brigade, as this Administration continues the work of creating a first-world fire service in Jamaica,” he remarked.

McKenzie also pointed to what he referred to as the “historic roll-out of standby generators at our fire stations to guarantee 24/7 operations under any circumstances”.

A total of J$24.5 million was spent to obtain five generators in the last financial year, and seven more will be purchased this year. This will result in an overall 25 standby generators in service at the fire stations.

The minister boasted that “This is something that has never happened before. In a similar vein, the revolutionising of our fire service delivery infrastructure is continuing at a rapid pace. In the last financial year, J$138 million was spent to repair and rehabilitate 10 fire stations across the country, from the Morant Bay Fire Station in the east to the Negril Fire Station in the west”.