THE Government of Guyana is pursuing the reconstruction of the Ogle Fire Station, at an estimated cost of $85.6 million.

Last Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an invitation for contractors to bid for the project. According to the public notice, electronic bidding for the project will not be permitted and contractors have until Tuesday, December 7, 2021 to submit their proposals.

The reconstruction of the Ogle Fire Station forms part of the government’s $22.2 billion security budget, which has seen the Guyana Fire Service receiving $1.9 billion from the overall $383.1 billion national budget for 2021.

Included in the sum are monies for the construction of a new fire station at Eccles, East Bank Demerara, and the procurement of six water tenders and two ambulances to function as part of the country’s Emergency Medical Service.

Added to that, $648 million has been allocated towards the relocation of the Central Fire Station from its heavily congested Stabroek Market location, to D’Urban Park.
Work on this particular project is expected to commence before the end of 2021, according to Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn.

It was only recently that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board disclosed that 12 companies submitted bids to undertake the project. “We already have some money for ground preparation and this bidding now is for the entirety of the building and the facility,” the Home Affairs Minister stated.

Earlier this year, he had disclosed plans to have the headquarters relocated to the Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown venue, in an effort to promote easier access as well as to accommodate a series of new firefighting resources procured by government.

The new fire station will be built on three and a half acres of land as the ministry recognises the shortcomings of the current location.

The relocation of the Central Fire Station has been a topic of discussion for some years now. It has been recognised that the Stabroek Market area had been radically transformed since the station was constructed, particularly as it relates to the congestion. The future development of the area was also a factor that led to the decision to relocate the fire station.

ONE PLACE
Not only will the Central Fire Station be relocated but Minister Benn disclosed that the maintenance sections for the fire tenders will also be moved to that location from the West Ruimveldt Fire Station so that the main activities of the fire service will be in one place.

“There were congestion issues at Stabroek and the government has been bringing in new assets, new fire trucks and so on. There are also the emergency management system and the ambulances, so we know that there is need for more space. Also, there is a consideration that the city itself has been expanding eastwards and southwards, so the location at Durban Park will help to provide a better balance in terms of being able to reach some locations,” Minister Benn said previously.

With regards to the expansion of the fire service’s human resource capacity, Minister Benn indicated that the possibility has not yet been explored. He noted that at the moment the plan is to improve the service of the current firefighters.

According to Benn, the plan was to ensure adequate training and capacity-building exercises come on stream so that a higher quality of service is provided to the Guyanese people.

Following the recent fire that destroyed 80 per cent of the Brickdam Police Station, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, disclosed the plans government has for improving the performance of the ranks attached to the fire service.

Acknowledging the shortcomings within the Guyana Fire Service, the Head of State noted that plans are underway to find Guyanese living in the diaspora, who once served in the capacity of Fire Chief, to provide training locally as part of efforts to improve the operations of the fire service.

President Ali noted that several firefighters have negated their training and were unprepared for the emergency that required their best performance. He emphasised that significant retraining and new initiatives need to be in place to better equip the ranks to react to situations of national security.