Install Protection System, Says Fire Officer

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A SENIOR FIRE OFFICER wants businesses and home-owners to install water sprinklers and fire detectors.

Divisional Officer of the Barbados Fire Service Randolph Cox said the sprinklers would help bring a fire under control until a tender arrived.

He said fire detectors would also assist people in identifying the location of fires, which would assist officers in their response time.

"We are advocating active fire protection systems for business houses and homes," he stated.

He said it was a costly undertaking, and some people opted for hand appliances like fire extinguishers and buckets of water or sand.

Firemen were in the field last Saturday with workers from the Ministry of Transport and Works placing blue markers to identify fire hydrants in Nelson Street and its environs. It was the continuation of a programme which will see makers being placed ten feet away from hydrants throughout The City.

Cox told the media it took about ten minutes for a wooden structure to be destroyed or severely damaged by fire.

"We are aiming to reduce the number of fires, especially structural fires we're receiving nowadays.

The efforts of the fire prevention and the community relation departments has assisted in achieving a reduction in fires so far for the year," Cox said, adding that the easy detection of hydrants would assist in the Fire Service's efficiency and effectiveness.

He made an appeal to members of the public to desist from parking on or in close proximity to hydrants, because it could impact on their ability to connect to the water supply.

The hydrant-marking programme is being done with the assistance of United Insurance, which donated the markers.

Executive director David Alleyne said the company felt the security of property in Bridgetown was important, and wanted to assist the agencies in minimising the damage to property.

"It's not just the financial loss that is a problem, but it can alleviate suffering and the trauma which attends emergencies and fire loss throughout the country," Alleyne said.

The Fire Service is involved in a programme with another insurance company to provide fire detectors to home-owners. (YB)

Source: www.nationnews.com

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