ST JAMES, Jamaica — A combination of rain that has kept bush fires to a minimum, no major blazes to fight, and access to other sources of water has kept fire stations in the western end of the country from feeling the brunt of the ongoing strike by the National Water Commission (NWC).

Checks with stations in Trelawny, Hanover and St James revealed that they were all coping quite well on day two of the strike that has crippled other sections of the country. They all made it clear they were available to respond to emergencies if needed.

“We have found that there is water in hydrants in the Wakefield and Deeside area and the trucks can replenish in those areas. We also have the ability to go to places like Tankweld and others if the need arises,” said acting deputy superintendent for the Trelawny Fire Department, Carol Wilmot.

In fact, they have been able to provide some of the highly-sought-after commodity to others.

“Today we assisted our colleagues, the police, with some water as they too have been impacted by the challenges of the strike,” explained the firefighter.

They have that luxury as they do not rely on the NWC’s supply. Neither does the fire station in St James.

“Right now we are not being hampered by the strike because we have alternative sources that are not being controlled by the NWC that we can tap into,” said divisional commander, acting superintendent for St James, Winsome Grant.

“We know our fire ground well and, based on our best practices, the fire department is not in any major crisis to attain water for firefighting,” Grant assured.

At the Lucea Fire Station in Hanover, Assistant Superintendent, Tamara Snow, told OBSERVER ONLINE they have received very few calls since the strike and they are carefully managing the use of their water supply.

“We have a 20,000 gallon tank at the station and that should be able to provide us with water for a time; as long as we don’t get too much incidents,” she said.