Fire losses could worsen if Manchester water issues not remedied

Manchester:

With some 60 incidents of fire recorded in the parish last month, losses estimated at over $27 million, and more than a dozen persons still homeless, Acting Assistant Superintendent of Manchester Fire Services, Oniel Bryan, says the department continues to be negatively impacted by the lack of water across sections of the parish.

“There is just one water truck in the parish. Mandeville has only one pumper and Christiana has one. For now, we just have to hope that wherever the tender is needed, that it can be made available,” he said.He outlined the limitations of the service, saying, “We have to call our water tender from Mandeville, or get water from Windalco for fires of a particular magnitude. And there is one particular person we can always call on to help with water if there is a fire in the Christiana area.”

But Councillor of the Walderston Division, Leroy Mitchell, says the situation is further compounded by a shortage of working hydrants in major areas.

“We have a lot of houses in the areas. When you consider that whole stretch from Spalding all the way back to Walderston, there is no fire hydrant except the one that is at Cobbla; and it is not working. Imagine what would happen if a fire [should] take place down Allison road, and by the time that fire unit reach and it barely come with any water..”

The acting fire chief told the Manchester Municipal Corporation meeting that despite the losses and the challenges, however, valuables saved was estimated at over $5 billion. He said there is a stronger need for some persons to implement safer fire-prevention practices and share factual information about the possible causes of a fire.

“Some time ago, there was a location where I attended to a fire and there were two refrigerators filled to capacity with meat, and when I asked if they had electricity, they said no. Irrespective of how damaging the fire is, they won’t tell you that they have illegal connection. Sometimes you can trace it, but at other times you can’t.”

He said work is ongoing to install and repair fire hydrants across the areas.

“Our hydrant team has dealt with the hydrant at Whitney Turn, Porus, and it is only left to be painted; but water is there and it is up and running. Also, at Balvenie Drive, Heath Close and Greenvale Road, all those hydrants are now operational,” he reported

Mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell suggested that stronger emphasis be placed on installing hydrants closer to areas where the demand is highest.

“Imagine[that] you go to Albert Town with a truck of water and you run out of water. You have to come back to Mandeville or Windalco. There has to be some greater planning or analysis of the whole situation.”

Councillor Omar Miller of the Craighead Division, which recorded a number of fires, encouraged agencies and ministries to allocate more funding for programmes to assist these victims.

“Most of those persons are still homeless They are not really settled. Material is so expensive, and even a sheet of plyboard right now is almost running [close to] the cost of 100 blocks. I want to reach out to some agencies and even the municipalities right now for assistance. We have to find a way to have some resources in place as it relates to fire.”