Assistant Chief Fire Officer Noel Stewart is urging homeowners and businesses across Trinidad and Tobago to take a more proactive role in preventing fires and other hazardous incidents — stressing that safety begins long before an emergency occurs.
00:00Assistant Chief Fire Officer Noel Short made the appeal during day two of AmChamTT's 29th annual HSSE conference and exhibition where he underscored the importance of regular checks and inspections.
00:16Listen, do some simple housekeeping. You have grass, you have trees, you have all kinds of derelict vehicles all over your yard. Clean up the place.
00:30In your business space, your agencies, do your inspections. Have your inspections, for example, the electrical inspections done on a regular basis and do not take it for granted.
00:45If you treat fire safety like a compliance checkbox, then you might as well throw reliance out of the picture.
01:00He also reminded attendees of one simple device that can make the difference between life and death.
01:07Smoke detectors have been proven to save lives. That small device actually saves lives.
01:15If you do not have fire prevention measures and you do not have fire protection measures, then what remains is response.
01:28And that response would come from fire service. Anytime that bell goes down and the alarm is sounded and those trucks roll out, you start incurring losses because it's the response now.
01:45Prevention, protection, response. No prevention, no protection, you will get a response.
01:57The acting chief further stressed the need for better communication and coordination in times of crisis.
02:04We had an example just the other day. Many people didn't know what was going on in the country.
02:12But many roads were packed with traffic.
02:18Right there at Rising Road, the trucks couldn't come out if there were going to be an emergency because of that lack of information.
02:29So we need to have responsible persons, persons who have been trained, people who know what they are about, having joint information, understanding the risks that are present outside there and knowing exactly what to say, when to say, how to say it on a timely basis.
02:53Because when it comes to safety, prevention, preparedness and communication are everyone's responsibility.
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