Falmouth firefighters host homework programme

Richard Morais, Gleaner Writer

FALMOUTH, Trelawny:

THE IDEA that the firefighter is a part-time worker, or better yet, a person who works once in a while during the odd fire is probably being debunked as the Falmouth Fire Station is demonstrating.

One of the programmes that has been getting rave reviews islandwide is the homework programme, which the Falmouth Fire Station started. While it is suspended at this time, as it is undergoing necessary modifications, it has been hailed as good by residents. The homework programme is expected to be resumed before December.

"The target group was CXC-level students, and we were finding it challenging to get the teaching assistance to help these students, therefore a revision of the programme is under way," Deputy Superintendent and Divisional Head of the Falmouth Fire Station Kevin Haughton told The Gleaner recently. Some of the problems have been resolved and the CXC classes have begun.

The advent of a state-of-the-art building provides the opportunity for it to be used outside of its core duty. The building is being offered as a meeting place or conference facility.

One of the most recent uses was by the Bureau of Women's Affairs and the Social Development Commission, which hosted a masculinity-training workshop. It is also the regular meeting place for the Trelawny Horticultural Society as well as the Red Cross.

The proverbial joke about the fireman being called to rescue a cat from the tree in American culture may not necessarily be the mandate of the firefighter, but now, the fire brigade is not just about putting out fires, but much more.

Albeit a feature not unique to Falmouth, the station now has a fully equipped medical-response team and ambulance. Oftentimes, the fire brigade is the first official response in an accident to stabilise or remove victims.

The fire chief is reminding the public that it is not just about accident response but response to all emergencies. "Even in a heart attack, or some other emergencies, the team is trained to be the first response."

Separate from the medical-response team, the firefighter is more often than not the individual to remove victims from mangled and wrecked vehicles because of the equipment they have.

Haughton reminded the public of the Fire Prevention Unit which specialises in training. He noted that any organisation can request the fire brigade to conduct fire-prevention training or workshops. He said that sometimes organisations have fire-prevention equipment as required by regulatory bodies, but the persons involved cannot use the equipment, therefore, should there be a fire, the equipment is almost useless.

He noted that the fire brigade is the regulatory body which ensures that public buildings are conforming to fire-safety regulations.