LUCEA, Hanover — Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels has warned firefighters in the parish that the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) is not afraid to clamp their private vehicles if they continue to park haphazardly in and around the fire station.

“I looked…and only saw four vehicles, and that area can accommodate about 25 vehicles. So, what is happening? The church was so generous to the firefighters [by allowing them to utilise their parking lot]. They are not using it. I am going to start clamping these vehicles when they park on the front. I am telling you, they are going to be clamped. And when I do that, that is nothing strange because we have had our experience already with firefighters there. [They] parked in the mayor’s area and refused to move,” Samuels said during Thursday’s monthly meeting of the HMC.

Divisional head of the Hanover Fire Department, Assistant Superintendent Keneisha Vaccianna, who recently took office, assured the mayor that he will ensure that firefighters use the parking lot provided by the Methodist Church.

The mayor also called upon him to explain why he was turning “a blind eye” to a fire unit being blocked in by firefighters’ private vehicles, creating a potentially dangerous situation.

“What if you get an urgent call and have to move…? It is not safe,” the mayor argued.

Vaccianna pointed out that one of the trucks in question is currently disabled and is without firefighting equipment while the lane used by the other working unit is always clear. However, the mayor disagreed.

Noting that the fire brigade and the HMC are both under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the mayor made it clear that he was not beating up on Vaccianna, who took office a few days ago, but was merely pointing out the gravity of what could be a detrimental situation and asking for corrective action to be taken.