BY SHEENA FORDE-CRAIGG | AUG 29, 2023 |
Port Side Fire Station, located in the Port of Bridgetown, is nearing completion. (C.Pitt/BGIS)
The Barbados Fire Service’s (BFS) ability to respond to fires in the Bridgetown area will be doubled when the Port Side Fire Station, located in the Port of Bridgetown, is completed.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, highlighted this point, following an inspection of the facility, this morning.
Mr. Abrahams noted that concerns were raised when Government decided to relocate the BFS’ headquarters and Bridgetown Station to The Pine, St. Michael, regarding the response time of the BFS to incidents occurring in the City and the surrounding environs.
“We have actually, in the combination move to The Pine, as well as this Port Side Fire Station, pretty much doubled the capacity of our ability to respond to anything in the St. Michael area,” the Minister stated.
In addition, he pointed out that the fire station which is under construction, would become the Port’s “dedicated response unit”, which would have a specific vehicle that suits the requirements of the Port, as well as supplementary and additional support vehicles to deal with medical emergencies and not just fire emergencies.
“The intention is to have a unit stationed here that is capable of responding to a fire at the Port but also to deal with any medical issues that may arrive at the Port until the full medical team gets there. So the Port in one go has enhanced its capacity to deal with a fire situation and also for emergency response for medical issues,” Minister Abrahams explained.
With the Port Side Fire Station being equipped with a Medical Response Team, it will “significantly enhance” the response to medical emergencies in the Bridgetown area, as it will offer support to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and ambulance service in providing first response medical care where required.
The Minister thanked Chief Fire Officer, Errol Maynard, for “driving the initiative” and the Bridgetown Port Inc.’s (BPI) Chief Operations Officer, Ian Stewart, for all the assistance provided.
Mr. Stewart disclosed that financing for the $2.85 million facility is being funded by the BPI and is part of the Port’s policy regarding safety and security.
“We’ve placed this here to not only enhance the fire protection of the Port, but surely, it also gives our staff a bit of comfort as it relates to the response that they can get from a medical standpoint for chemical hazards, as well as for the overall safety and security of the Port,” Mr. Stewart noted.
Mr. Maynard shared that additional staffing for the BFS had been requested to enhance and provide a more efficient service to the public. He added that until there is additional staff, the Port Side Fire Station will be manned with officers drawn from the Bridgetown complement.
“What we will do initially, we will separate some of the Bridgetown staff to be able to accommodate the opening here…. Initially, we will have five persons per shift, so that’s 20 persons plus a commander,” Chief Maynard said.
The inspection of the Port Side Fire Station, which started almost two years ago, was carried out to ensure that everything was going according to plan.
