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Above: Fire Chief Chesterfield Mayers and Attorney-General Freundel Stuart.
That is the advice from Chief Fire Officer Chesterfield Mayers to householders following the three deaths by fire so far for the year.
Mayers said in case of a fire in the home, people needed to know every exit in their homes and train themselves to be able to find them even in the middle of the night.
He told the DAILY NATION in a telephone interview yesterday that the situation where people were dying in house fires was becoming a trend and was becoming unbearable.
"People have to be more careful, especially when using candles," he said.
In fact, Mayers advised the public not to use candles at all and to find another way to light up their homes. However, he acknowledged some people had no choice and advised them to use extreme caution.
"Do not leave candles burning when you go to sleep," he said.
The fire chief also said that too often when fire officers arrived at the scene of a fire in Barbados, it was too late. He appealed to the public, especially people who live in The City, to call them early.
Another problem Mayers identified was people not being truthful when it came to revealing how fires had started.
Sunday morning, Doreen Dawe was burnt alive in her home in Licorish Village, My Lord's Hill, St Michael.
Earlier this month, Ronnie Streaks died when his two-storey house in Crumpton Street, The City, went up in flames.
In March, Anita Griffith perished when she was unable to get out of her rented building in Constitution Road, also in The City.
The three deaths brought the total of fire-related deaths up to 24 over the past eight years.
Mayers said fires could start anywhere, but acknowledged they seemed to be happening frequently in The City lately.
As for other fires, the department continues to be under extreme pressure. A call to the Fire Service revealed 14 grass fires had been reported yesterday, bringing that total for the year to 842.
The following is a breakdown of some of the other fires for the year: 162 cane fires; 150 rubbish fires; 43 private dwelling fires; 21 commercial building
fires; 102 false alarms (good intent) and 79 false alarms (malicious intent). (CA)
Source: The Nation Newspaper - April 29, 2008
Above: The burnt out building at Crumpton Street where Ronnie Streaks died.Fire took the life of a 40-year-old man on Sunday night and destroyed a house in Crumpton Street, The City.
Ronnie Streaks, who lived in a two-storey limestone and timber building, died in the fire but the whereabouts of his mother, who resided with him, remain unknown.
Fire officials said the call came in at 11:13 p.m. and fire chief Chesterfield Mayers and 11 officers, utilising four tenders and the CLP ladder, brought the fire under control by 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
The roof of a neighbouring parking garage owned by Kiran's was damaged along with a motor vehicle, owned by the Urban Development Commission. (WB)
Source: The Nation Newspaper - April 22, 2008
Much needed manuals were presented to the Barbados Fire Service recently by SOL Barbados Limited.
The manuals or handbooks, which are the latest ones produced by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) based in the United States, contain relevant information on new toxins and substances and what materials will extinguish fires.
General manager, South Caribbean, of SOL, Roger Bryan, said his company was committed to the Fire Service and that the handbooks would go a long way in the continual education of the officers.
He said there were nine volumes and each station in Barbados would get a set of them.
Bryan said the Fire Service had trained the staff at SOL and they had a close working relationship.
Chief fire officer Chesterfield Mayers said that recently five officers had returned from the United States with an Associate degree in fire technology.
Mayers said while much of the training was done in Canada and the United States, there was a still a lot done in-house, and next month a supervisor's programme would begin. Deputy chief fire officer Anthony Blackman, who thanked SOL for the gift, said the last set of NFPA manuals the service had was outdated, and that the donation showed great foresight on the part of SOL. (WB)
Source: The Nation Newspaper - April 9, 2008
People living along Porter's Main Road, St James, are living in fear of a suspected arsonist.
There have been seven fires there within the last two weeks. The latest incident involves the destruction of around $3 000 in household appliances after a fire was started in a container yesterday.
It was the second time that there has been a fire in the container, the first on Thursday.
Resident Quimby Rhina told the DAILY NATION someone was spotted running away from the scene of the last fire.
"These fires can't be coincidence; it has to be an arsonist," she said.
She added that residents did not think anything was wrong at first but they were afraid now, as the fires were coming closer to their homes.
"We real frightened and disturbed because we have to leave home to go to work and we are not feeling comfortable [leaving]," she said.
Backyard on fire
Early Saturday morning, Sophia Worrell was greeted by a sight no homeowner wants – her backyard was on fire.
"At around 12:30 a.m., I got up to go to the bathroom and I saw the glare and smoke. We [her neighbours] had to use a hose to put it out and later I got up and finished burning the grass so no one could come back and try to finish burning it," she said.
Upset neighbours also complained they called police on Saturday and yesterday but no one came. However, police officers arrived as
Verity J. Beckles, who lives in Warrens, St Michael, owns the land where some of the fires occurred. The appliances destroyed in the container fire belonged to his sister, who lives in England.
"I will have my land properly fenced but as I am visually impaired and physically challenged, I will have to find someone to do it.
"I may also put out a reward to the person responsible for the arrest and conviction of the [possible] arsonist because if one house goes up in smoke, they all will," he said. (CA)
Source: The Nation Newspaper - March 25, 2008
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