MONTEGO BAY, St James — After 16 years of waiting, firefighters in Montego Bay will on Friday officially begin working out of a new, state-of-the-art fire station at 1 Barnett Street, a familiar location in the heart of the city.

In 2006, with the original building deemed inhabitable, the fire station was temporarily relocated to a former lumber yard on Almond Way in the busy Freeport area. That spot, on the fringes of the city, added another layer of traffic to battle as firefighters responded to emergencies.

Ground was broken for the new facility in 2019, much to the delight of firefighters such as Superintendent Dolphin Doeman, the then divisional commander for the parish, who is currently on pre-retirement leave. He has described Friday’s opening as “long overdue”.

“It was scheduled for a year at the ground-breaking ceremony. Personally though, I did not think it was possible but I still think that three years has been a long time. It started in 2019 and now it’s in 2022,” he told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday.

Doeman is set to retire in September after leading the division for 10 years, but he is happy that those still on the job will benefit from the new facility. He is looking forward to the official opening.

“I welcome it and I look forward to the men and women being relocated in a more comfortable and work-friendly environment. I am really happy for that,” he said. “I’ve always said my main concern has always been for the men and women who occupy the Freeport premises and the need for them to get out as soon as possible.”

During a June 2021 tour, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie attributed delays to the novel coronavirus and said work would have been completed in two months. The station, he promised then, would be the “most modern” in the Caribbean. The original Barnett Street structure has been expanded significantly and is now easily accessible from Howard Cooke Boulevard.

It has not been easy working from the Freeport location said some firefighters, who asked not to be identified. They are eager to get back to Barnett Street — it is where they feel they belong.

“When the rain falls a lot you find that the station yard [at Freeport] floods. Just recently I heard that a car was flooded because of the high water. Then you have to deal with a whole heap of mosquito down there. I just can’t wait to move!” one firefighter with more than 18 years of experience told the Observer.

Another firefighter said the building at Freeport has been rehabilitated numerous times, to keep it going, but they were worried it would collapse at any time. Now, he said, they are all looking forward to the new building which is larger and more centrally located.

Former assistant commissioner for Area 4 Dave McLaughlin is also among those looking forward to the opening of the Barnett Street station. He led the division before being promoted and then subsequently retiring in 2018.

“I am pleased to know that the firefighters are going to move from the temporary location. I am very pleased to know that it finally came through and that we are not there any longer. They are going into a more comfortable space,” he said.

The three-storey Montego Bay fire station cost just under $583 million, up from the $574 million price tag last mentioned in 2022 when McKenzie vowed there was no cost overrun. It was funded through a loan from the World Bank with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) as the implementing agency. Work was done under the JSIF’s Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Programme.

The new “steel reinforced concrete framed superstructure” as it is described by the Government, will have five engine bays, as well as a designated area for other emergency vehicles such as ambulances. There is also dorm space for 140 firefighters, with equal space for both genders, office space, a kitchen, conference centre and a gym.

“It is expected to improve the response time, as well as the human resource and equipment capacity of the local fire department by facilitating proper accommodations, training and conference facilities and improved customer service areas to better serve the public,” said a release inviting coverage of Friday’s ceremony to hand the building over to Jamaica Fire Brigade and the people of St James. Prime Minister Andrew Holness, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, and other dignitaries are expected to attend.