Keep electric fans away from flammable items, St James fire superintendent warns
Published:Wednesday | June 18, 2025 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Jamaica Fire Brigade’s (JFB) Acting Superintendent for St James, Kenisha Vascianni, is warning citizens not to keep electric fans running for long periods and to keep them away from combustible items, to reduce the risk of the fans developing defects and causing fires as a result.
Vascianni gave the warning while addressing last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), where he outlined the JFB’s activities in St James during the month of May.
“As the days and nights get warmer, I just want to appeal to individuals to be mindful of the fans that you are overworking during this period. For the standing fans, kindly ensure that they stand alone and away from combustibles, as in, anything that can easily catch fire, and for the wall-mounted fans, avoid installing them above a dresser, table, or clothes basket,” he said.
“When the fans overwork, it is more likely for them to develop some form of defects, and they can be a cause of fire, not just dwellings, but in business-places also. As well, the practice of leaving the fan on to cool down your room until you are ready to lie down is a very bad practice,” Vascianni added.
The issue of fans being potential fire hazards in Jamaica previously came up in 2014, when the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) issued a recall for a batch of wall and standing fans that had been imported under the brand name JSW, and again in 2018, when the public was warned to stop using the 18-inch standing model of the VideoCon brand fan. On both occasions, the warnings were issued due to the fans burning during tests.
In January 2021, the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority issued a recall of all iHOME 18-inch standing fans purchased from a store in Portmore, St Catherine, as they were deemed a safety hazard.
The increased use of fans as cooling mechanisms during the summer period also came up as recently as August 2023, when industrial circulatory fans and water-cooling fans were used in the livestock barns at the Denbigh Agricultural Industrial and Food Show in May Pen, Clarendon. At that time, it was reported to be the first time in Denbigh’s 70-year history, up to that point, that the fans were being used to regulate the temperature of the animals at the agricultural show.
Vascianni also gave the StJMC a brief update on the parish’s assigned fireboat, which had been dry-docked from September 2024 due to it needing repairs.
“The fireboat, which has been dry-docked for quite some time, is closer to setting sail, as new engines were installed and other repairs done. It is undergoing a testing phase, to be launched in short order,” said Vascianni, albeit he did not give a timeline for when the boat will be launched.
During May, the JFB responded to 140 fire calls in St James, of which 113 were genuine calls. The brigade’s assigned ambulance was used to respond to 109 emergency calls, of which 96 required the use of the ambulance while the remaining 13 did not require transportation.
Additionally, 168 inspections were done by the brigade’s Fire Prevention Department, while seven fire hydrants were inspected and three repaired.