.png)
BERBICE Divisional Fire Officer, Compton Sparman has admonished drivers who, habitually, drive behind an appliance responding to a call, warning that the practice can be disastrous.
Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle, he pointed to the challenges which the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) faces.
Pounding on his desk at the Divisional Headquarters in New Amsterdam, he said: “Your building can be on fire and you don’t know but because you have your agenda, you do not want the vehicle to pass you. You are driving and the siren is on, you hear it, but you don’t care as you are driving. But drivers ought not to take these things lightly. It is a reason why we go at that speed with caution, as the quicker we get there, it is the better for you and us,” Sparman asserted.
However, with respect to tenders using their sirens, despite not going to an emergency, he said that act is illegal.
“It is wrong for a fire appliance to use its siren, marshal alarm and flashing lights, if it is not responding to an emergency, as it tells the caller that help is on its way and that we will be there shortly. That is the purpose of sounding the alarm. We have been given the authority to exceed the speed limit with caution, once we respond to an emergency. So, any appliance that goes down the road and takes on and off the siren, just using it to clear a crowd is committing an offence. Once the fire tenders are being driven normally along the roadway, the rank is expected to obey all the traffic laws, which include stopping at the major roads, adhering to the relevant signs and waiting their turn, once they are not responding to an emergency,” Sparman reiterated.
He said another challenge faced by the GFS, which has four stations in Berbice, is the accessibility to water in cases of emergency.
Sparman, who took up his assignment in Berbice last February 26, said they depend more on the pillar hydrants which are faster to connect to the hoses than the ones on the ground.
“With respect to the ground hydrants, we have to remove the cover and go down at about eight feet. It is risky for the firefighters to descend as the water is released with a great pressure and persons can be seriously injured. It happens at times. At Rose Hall town, there are no hydrants and the open water source is limited. For us, this is a challenge. At Corriverton, there is water, basically for agricultural purposes. Water is in the drainage but, when there is the dry season, we will get problems. That is why we purchased the water browsers, which will assist us to carry large volumes of water. It is a challenge for us, in these other areas. However, in New Amsterdam, we have an open water source in the Republic Road canal, although, at times, it is clogged up but we can clear it and get access while, in the other areas, there are challenges as the open water source is limited, hydrants are not working and our vehicles carry only 400 gallons. For us to get more water, we have to seek permission from Guyana Water Authority,” he disclosed.
Construction boom
Sparman said, another major concern relates to the construction boom, more specifically, buildings which exceed three floors, without permission from the GFS.
He said: “We ask that the building plans be submitted to the GFS, so that we can review them and look at the fire safety aspect, as see buildings exceeding three floors as high risk buildings and, in case of fire, we must be able to have access. Once persons apply through the Town Council for constructions, reconstructions, alterations, we should have a copy,” he maintained.
Sparman said one more challenge is communication. Once members of the public call from a landline telephone, using 192, it goes to the Control Room and appliances will be dispatched.
But, if the call originates from a cellular phone, it goes to Georgetown to the Central Control and then has to be re-routed back to the Berbice Control Room, which will take a lot of time for a response. That is one of the reasons why they may not respond in a timely manner but it depends on what device the caller uses.
Despite the varying difficulties Sparman said the fire stations at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice and Rose Hall Town, Corentyne each have a tender while the New Amsterdam Station has three, which carry between 250 and 500 gallons of water and water browser which can transport 3,500 gallons.
“That 3,500 gallons will give us considerable time for a fire. Once there is a fire, we have to have access to additional water apart from that on the tender and browser. We have to access from a hydrant or canal. That is why we depend on the canals and hydrants but only the ground hydrants are functioning at this time,” he related.
About training, Sparman said that is constant, both publicly and privately, despite the low participation by the public. However, a two-day joint service training in basic firefighting techniques attracted members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Prison Service (GPS) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). The topics dealt with included chemistry of combustion, GFS legislation, hoses and hose branch, passing of hose and branches, pump water supplies and water tender classifications.
Sparman admitted that firefighting is a learned skill but members of the Joint Services are being trained constantly in the event there is a situation which demands their assistance.
“These are the people we can call upon to assist us and they need to know how to hold a hose, how to rescue a person, how to use a ladder, among other techniques,” he agreed.
Sparman said they would also be training the auxiliary staff who would be needed if there is a large fire and his ranks are outnumbered.
From January 1 to July 10, 2013, the Berbice Division has had 184 fire calls, with 11 being extinguished before the arrival of the GFS and 144 put out by tenders.
Addressing the issue of late calls, seven of which were recorded, Sparman said an outbreak may have occurred on a previous day but reported after the blaze had been extinguished.
With respect to false alarms and malicious calls, there were 18 calls and Sparman said the danger with those is that a real fire can be occurring somewhere else.
During the past months, 23 buildings were maliciously destroyed or due to carelessness and electrical faults. Twenty arose from out of control rubbish fires, 92 grass fires, 22 electrical blazes and one which was started by sawdust and 100 persons were left homeless as a result of such disasters.
Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle, he pointed to the challenges which the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) faces.
Pounding on his desk at the Divisional Headquarters in New Amsterdam, he said: “Your building can be on fire and you don’t know but because you have your agenda, you do not want the vehicle to pass you. You are driving and the siren is on, you hear it, but you don’t care as you are driving. But drivers ought not to take these things lightly. It is a reason why we go at that speed with caution, as the quicker we get there, it is the better for you and us,” Sparman asserted.
However, with respect to tenders using their sirens, despite not going to an emergency, he said that act is illegal.
“It is wrong for a fire appliance to use its siren, marshal alarm and flashing lights, if it is not responding to an emergency, as it tells the caller that help is on its way and that we will be there shortly. That is the purpose of sounding the alarm. We have been given the authority to exceed the speed limit with caution, once we respond to an emergency. So, any appliance that goes down the road and takes on and off the siren, just using it to clear a crowd is committing an offence. Once the fire tenders are being driven normally along the roadway, the rank is expected to obey all the traffic laws, which include stopping at the major roads, adhering to the relevant signs and waiting their turn, once they are not responding to an emergency,” Sparman reiterated.
He said another challenge faced by the GFS, which has four stations in Berbice, is the accessibility to water in cases of emergency.
Sparman, who took up his assignment in Berbice last February 26, said they depend more on the pillar hydrants which are faster to connect to the hoses than the ones on the ground.
“With respect to the ground hydrants, we have to remove the cover and go down at about eight feet. It is risky for the firefighters to descend as the water is released with a great pressure and persons can be seriously injured. It happens at times. At Rose Hall town, there are no hydrants and the open water source is limited. For us, this is a challenge. At Corriverton, there is water, basically for agricultural purposes. Water is in the drainage but, when there is the dry season, we will get problems. That is why we purchased the water browsers, which will assist us to carry large volumes of water. It is a challenge for us, in these other areas. However, in New Amsterdam, we have an open water source in the Republic Road canal, although, at times, it is clogged up but we can clear it and get access while, in the other areas, there are challenges as the open water source is limited, hydrants are not working and our vehicles carry only 400 gallons. For us to get more water, we have to seek permission from Guyana Water Authority,” he disclosed.
Construction boom
Sparman said, another major concern relates to the construction boom, more specifically, buildings which exceed three floors, without permission from the GFS.
He said: “We ask that the building plans be submitted to the GFS, so that we can review them and look at the fire safety aspect, as see buildings exceeding three floors as high risk buildings and, in case of fire, we must be able to have access. Once persons apply through the Town Council for constructions, reconstructions, alterations, we should have a copy,” he maintained.
Sparman said one more challenge is communication. Once members of the public call from a landline telephone, using 192, it goes to the Control Room and appliances will be dispatched.
But, if the call originates from a cellular phone, it goes to Georgetown to the Central Control and then has to be re-routed back to the Berbice Control Room, which will take a lot of time for a response. That is one of the reasons why they may not respond in a timely manner but it depends on what device the caller uses.
Despite the varying difficulties Sparman said the fire stations at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice and Rose Hall Town, Corentyne each have a tender while the New Amsterdam Station has three, which carry between 250 and 500 gallons of water and water browser which can transport 3,500 gallons.
“That 3,500 gallons will give us considerable time for a fire. Once there is a fire, we have to have access to additional water apart from that on the tender and browser. We have to access from a hydrant or canal. That is why we depend on the canals and hydrants but only the ground hydrants are functioning at this time,” he related.
About training, Sparman said that is constant, both publicly and privately, despite the low participation by the public. However, a two-day joint service training in basic firefighting techniques attracted members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Prison Service (GPS) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). The topics dealt with included chemistry of combustion, GFS legislation, hoses and hose branch, passing of hose and branches, pump water supplies and water tender classifications.
Sparman admitted that firefighting is a learned skill but members of the Joint Services are being trained constantly in the event there is a situation which demands their assistance.
“These are the people we can call upon to assist us and they need to know how to hold a hose, how to rescue a person, how to use a ladder, among other techniques,” he agreed.
Sparman said they would also be training the auxiliary staff who would be needed if there is a large fire and his ranks are outnumbered.
From January 1 to July 10, 2013, the Berbice Division has had 184 fire calls, with 11 being extinguished before the arrival of the GFS and 144 put out by tenders.
Addressing the issue of late calls, seven of which were recorded, Sparman said an outbreak may have occurred on a previous day but reported after the blaze had been extinguished.
With respect to false alarms and malicious calls, there were 18 calls and Sparman said the danger with those is that a real fire can be occurring somewhere else.
During the past months, 23 buildings were maliciously destroyed or due to carelessness and electrical faults. Twenty arose from out of control rubbish fires, 92 grass fires, 22 electrical blazes and one which was started by sawdust and 100 persons were left homeless as a result of such disasters.
