The Jamaica Fire Brigade is asserting that it has the ability to tackle fires which may take place in high rise buildings across the island.
Assistant Commissioner in charge of Fire Prevention at the Brigade, Sean Martin, says the capacity to monitor high rise buildings will also increase within weeks.
Mr Martin's disclosure is in response to recent concerns about the risk of fires due to developers flouting conditions of their permits or lack of regulatory oversight.
Mr Martin explains that the equipment to respond is already available and strategically located because of the risk assessment in Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine, St Ann and St James.
“We have four hydronic platforms - these are two units that can be extended to a maximum feet of 115 but for safety reasons we extend to just 105 ft. You are talking about approximately nine or 10 floors - in terms of capacity - we have a capacity.”
He also said that more regulatory oversight has been added with increased inspections.
He disclosed that in a matter of weeks there will be more fire personnel for inspections and the certification of buildings.
“We’re currently going through restructuring where the government will approve a restructuring of the Jamaica Fire Brigade and the Fire Prevention division - they will beef up the capacity of this division. Come April 1, we will be employing a compliance and enforcement officer to ensure that we can fulfill our mandate to conduct annual inspections to ensure that buildings are certified,” he said.
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