Six firefighters battling house fire suffer electric shock, illegal connection blamed

Six firefighters received an electric shock while working at the scene of a house fire in Greenwich Farm, St Andrew early Tuesday morning.

Three of them have been admitted at the Kingston Public Hospital.

The extent of their injuries is not clear. 

Commissioner Stewart Beckford, head of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, says the injuries to the other three members were "not considered serious."

The six male firefighters are attached to the Trench Town Fire Station and responded to a call at 2:17 a.m. 

Beckford says the incident "arose as a result of illegal electrical connection." 

"I just want to make a special appeal to Jamaicans to desist from this practice because we suspect that the fire would have started as a result of that and we are also suspicious that it was an illegal connection that would have caused the injuries that the firefighters have sustained."

He added: "It's difficult when you do firefighting operations at nights to pick up on these things. In the day, we do come across them and we take the necessary precautions to ensure that we maintain our safety, but in the night when it's dark, it's difficult to see the illegal connection."

Beckford said the fire was extinguished by other firefighters on the scene.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.