WMC’s deputy mayor wary of plans for new fire station
Published:Wednesday | February 17, 2021 | 4:48 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Councillor Danree Delancy, the deputy mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, is worried that a proposal by the Jamaica Fire Brigade to build a new fire substation in Bethel Town, instead of sharing the facilities at the Bethel Town Police Station, could cause a protracted delay that will further expose residents of the area to the dangers of losing their lives and properties to fires.
“Your Worship, I am very concerned that to build from scratch, the Government might say to us that there are no funds available to do this project,” said Delancy, while addressing last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC). “That’s the reason why I was going the route of shared facilities at the Bethel Town Police Station.”
The nearest fire stations to Bethel Town are the Savanna-la-Mar Fire Station, which is 22 miles away, and the Montego Bay Fire Station in Freeport, St James, which is approximately 16 miles away. From both locations, the journey consists of long and hilly terrains.
Delancy, who is the councillor for the Darliston division, said he was recently called into a meeting with Assistant Commissioner Floyd McLean of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, and the head of the Bethel Town Police Station, where the plans for the establishment of the sub station were examined.
According to Delancy, the meeting came on the heels of the intervention of National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, who said that he would be taking steps to help the process of establishing a fire station in Bethel Town. “We met there with a view of revisiting the proposal to establish a fire station at the Bethel Town Police station, but what we are getting from the fire personnel is that they are more thinking about having a facility built from scratch for this purpose,” said Delancy.
Although he is wary of the plan to build a new facility, Delancy said he pointed out to McLean that the Jamaica Fire Brigade has available Crown lands immediately adjoining the Bethel Town Police Station, when the question was raised as to whether or not suitable lands were available to build the facility.
“I am hoping, trusting, and praying that we will get this facility soon and very soon, either by way of a brand new facility ... or by sharing facilities at the Bethel Town Police Station,” said Delancy. “I am hoping, Your Worship, that this matter will receive the urgent attention that it really deserves.”