TRAGEDY WILL STRIKE AGAIN

CCNTV6

The fire that claimed the life of Minister in the Ministry of Education, Lisa Morris-Julian and two of her children has reignited concerns about the state of the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service. In a media release today, President of the Fire Service Association, Keone Guy issues a dire warning: Tragedy will strike again unless urgent action is taken. Josette Deonanan has the details.

Transcript

00:00Keon Guy, the president of the Fire Association, is urging the government to reassess its priorities,

00:06warning that without immediate action, lives will continue to be at risk.

00:11The association calls for substantial investment in the fire service to ensure that the tragic

00:16deaths of Minister Morris-Julian and two of her children serve as a catalyst for change,

00:21rather than a precursor to further loss.

00:24The association describes the incident, which occurred not too far from the Arima fire station,

00:29as a somber reminder of what it calls critical deficiencies within the fire service.

00:34It says these deficiencies have led to preventable loss of life before and will likely do so again.

00:40The association has outlined previous incidents in which lives were lost because fire stations

00:45were ill-equipped to respond.

00:47In July 2021, three children perished in Maraval when the Woodbrook fire station had no appliance.

00:54In September 2023, Malcolm Diaz, a visually impaired senior, died in Santa Cruz, another

00:59station without a fire tender.

01:02And earlier this year in March, four families in Pinal and Barakpo were displaced while

01:07the newly built Pinal fire station remained unequipped.

01:10In this latest fire, the Arima fire station's tender was already engaged elsewhere, leaving

01:15the Tunapuna fire station 15 kilometers away to respond.

01:20The vehicle they used was an 18-year-old water tanker.

01:23The association says relying on such outdated equipment is both costly and unreliable.

01:29The media release also highlighted a nationwide shortage of fire tenders.

01:33Belmont, Woodbrook, Santa Cruz, Marval and Pinal stations currently lack operational

01:39appliances, while stations in Princestown and Lady Hales remain closed altogether.

01:45The association didn't stop there.

01:48It has pushed back against recent statements made by the Minister of National Security,

01:52who it quotes as saying that there were no significant outstanding requests from the

01:56fire service.

01:57It says, quote,

01:58The reality on the ground starkly contradicts this assertion.

02:02The TTFS is on the brink of collapse, with outdated trucks, inadequate equipment and

02:06insufficient funding, end quote.

02:08The association has also pointed to budgetary constraints as a key issue.

02:13It says the fire service's allocation for vehicles and equipment was slashed from $11.5

02:18million to just $4 million this year.

02:21For context, it says a single water tender costs $4.5 million, and the association estimates

02:28it would take just over $100 million, less than 0.2% of the national budget, to address

02:34critical shortages.

02:36The fire association's warning is clear.

02:38The fire service is under-resourced, and unless urgent steps are taken, more lives will be lost.

02:44Josette Deonanan, TV6 News.

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