– with some of Guyana’s finest

By Jared Liddell

FOR Guyanese, Christmas is a time for family. Many persons look forward to Christmas Day because it is the one day the whole family can come together to sit and enjoy each other’s company, watch the children open gifts, and share laughter and love among their family members, without having to hurry off to work or any other activity.

However, even on this family-centred day, many public servants in the country are still valiantly giving up their coveted ‘family time’ to serve and protect the citizens of Guyana, giving them the assurance that while they spend the day with their family, they can still be protected and responded to in case of any emergency.

Public servants like doctors, nurses, firemen, policemen and even security officers all get dressed in their uniforms and make their way down to their respective places of work to cater to the calling they had undertaken as public servants.

The Guyana Chronicle took to the Guyana Fire Service to interview some of the brave firemen that have valiantly gone to their place of work away from their families on Christmas Day, some of whom have been doing that for over 10 years.

One such fireman is Sub-Officer Marlon Wilson, who said that he has been working on Christmas Day for a number of years now. Sharing his experience of what it’s like working on Christmas Day, he said that for members of the Guyana Fire Service, the day is not unlike any other day in the life of a fireman, as they still have to be on high alert, just like any other day.

Fireman Wilson told the Guyana Chronicle that he does not feel lonely on Christmas Day, because the ranks of the Fire Service all operate as a family. He said that the bond they have formed allows them to share as a family, and have a good time together, although they are away from their families.

“It could still be a little difficult for some persons, because, I mean, Christmas Day is Christmas Day. But we understand the commitment that we have made to do this job. I mean, when you think about it, yes, you do get lonely at times, but then the staff here in the Fire Service, we are like a family. So, that loneliness is quickly evaporated. Once we get here, and we have little conversations and we start gyaffing amongst ourselves. So, it’s not like if we don’t miss home. We miss home yes, but then, because we have this relationship here, it allows us to have some level of relief and comfort,” Wilson said.
When asked, Wilson stated that the occurrence of fires on Christmas Day is rare.

SACRED HEART FIRE
He however recalled one of those rare occurrences, saying, “I remember one Christmas Day where there was the fire at Sacred Heart Church. That was the worst Christmas I ever had. I remember I was on my way to work, and I never actually reach the station until after 6pm that day, because we just went straight to the fire.”

He explained that although the situation was devastating, the citizens saw the hard work the firemen were putting in and came out to support and encourage them, by bringing them meals from their homes to ensure that they were able to get a meal for Christmas. He said that although this kindness warmed their hearts and made them feel appreciated for their sacrifices, he would personally prefer if persons were spared his kind of loss.
“We would prefer to not have fires. People might say we are lazy and so on, but once fires happen, there is some level of damage, and there are so much things we have to take into consideration: Our response, the time we take to get there, even the availability of water, because, face it, a lot of people did some fresh painting, and all this leads to the fire spreading faster. So we would prefer not to have these mishaps,” Wilson said.

Asked whether he would rather the Fire Service did not work on Christmas Day, Wilson said, “We cannot close these doors of responsibility. It’s our job; it’s a calling. When these days come, you are going to want to not be at work, but we already know what we have signed up for, and what is our responsibility. So we would always come out. And we are always prepared to serve the Guyanese people, even if we are not on duty at that time.”
Another fireman, Section Leader Haslyn Parris recalled his experiences, explaining that in the spirit of sharing and caring, the members of staff that are scheduled to work up until the morning of Christmas Day would offer to stay on duty a few hours extra, just to ensure that the firemen who have to come in would be able to have breakfast with their families.
“In the morning time, they allow us to have breakfast with the family, so you have a little time to come in a bit late, because we all know that having breakfast with the family is a big thing,” he said, adding: “And to me, during the day, you don’t feel much away from your family, because that breakfast is what is needed in the morning with the children around the table and stuff like that; that’s the most important part of the day, because during the day, you would hardly find the children coming to sit down and eat with you. And so, because by then they would have already opened their gifts now, they want to go play with them and show their friends and so on. But in the morning, you know, the breakfast is what we look forward to.”

OVER 10 YEARS
He said he had been working Christmas Day for over 10 years, and that he and the other firemen that have been working the holiday for some time are not largely affected by having to work on that day, due to the fact that he feels that although he is away from his actual family, he is still with family at the fire station.
A third fireman, Section Leader Ewart Kensey, shared similar experiences and sentiments as the other firemen.

“What my shift used to do,” he said, “is whenever we would have to work on Christmas Day, when you come to work, we walk with our lunch; food that we would have prepared for our families. Everybody would sit down on a big table, and everybody takes out their food, and everybody eats from everybody. Everybody shares everything, just like we would at home with our actual families, so everybody eats and drinks. And we share and have a good day, because you have to be here. Fire fighters are a family, and we always operate like that. And especially on Christmas Day, we are each other’s family.”
Kensey went on to say that every Christmas he prays that no individual or family would have to face the tragedy of losing their homes or any of their property to a fire. He said, “I have 12 more years in this job, and if I can come to work for the next 12 years and don’t go at no fire call, it’s the best thing that could ever happen.
I would rather people not have to face this kind of loss.”

The brave servicemen stated that Christmas is supposed to be a time when God gave the sacrificial gift of His Son to Mankind. Guyanese receive the firemen’s sacrificial gift of quality time on Christmas Day. They wished every Guyanese a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous 2020.