Fewer deaths from fire this year – brigade chief

The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) has reported a decrease in the number of fire-related deaths between January and September 2022, in comparison to the corresponding period in 2021.

Addressing a recent Jamaica Information Service Think Tank, JFB Commissioner Stewart Beckford revealed that the number of deaths decreased by approximately 48 per cent when compared to last year.

“While we can be comforted by the fact that we have seen a significant reduction in fire-related deaths this year, we should all work to get that number down to zero,” he said.

Beckford noted the JFB has found discarded lit cigarettes, suspected arson, acts of nature, careless use of fire, explosions, spontaneous ignitions, and electrical short circuits to be main sources of fire.

“There are cases where persons may be smoking, and they discard the cigarette while it is still lit. We have seen 247 instances of that and those would have resulted in fires occurring at some locations,” he pointed out.

The JFB commissioner added that there is also a decrease in the number of cases relating to the careless use of fire.

“This could very well involve you, but we have been speaking specifically to our farmers about slash and burn and, thankfully, we have been seeing a reduction in this category,” he said.

Reporting on the 91 cases of suspected arson over the period, Beckford said that the JFB will continue to work with the police to investigate these cases, some of which had been circulating in the news in recent times. He said the JFB has responded to 40 cases of fire caused by acts of nature, 14 explosions, 34 spontaneous fires, and 264 cases of fire caused by electrical short circuits.

He, however, expressed “deep concern” for fires caused by electrical short circuits, as some of the fires in this category are due to inappropriate connections to Jamaica Public Service Company powerlines.

The fire chief implored members of the public, especially those in the inner-city communities, to “get their electricity regularised … so as to reduce the likelihood of a fire occurring”.

“We are all responsible for our safety, and so I encourage you to practise good fire-safety principles, whether it’s at home or work,” he added.

JIS