U.S. firefighters conduct training for Belize department
They are the first people we call at the first sign of smoke and the first people we blame when the houses burn down. But does Belize’s Fire Department deserves all the criticism from the public and is their constant pleas for more manpower and better equipment just excuses? Some American firefighters on a training mission took our department out for a test run and found they have some very legitimate, even life-threatening, concerns.
Calvin Hendricks, Witness, Victoria Street Fire, June 25, 1999
“To me the fire department is the one that are responsible for this fire because like when they come here, all of them run over here to see if they to participate in a fire and when they come over here, none of them had the water, what, this is not a beauty contest, this is a fire.”
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
“I was at the fire on Victoria Street looking at the burst hoses and wondering why the fire department wasn’t doing their job. Today I got a quite different education after I saw what our Belizean firemen have to work with.”
“In the wake of the Victoria Street fire, Mr. Smith, the general feeling of the public was that the fire fighters either don’t know what they were doing or there was just mass miscommunication on the street that night, what can you tell me about that fire and why things happened the way that it did?”
Ted Smith, Firefighter
“The Victoria Street fire, very sorry for those people who have lost their homes, we know that people have that opinion sometimes but what we need to tell the people is that we do the best that we can. During the Victoria Street fire there was some mistakes made by our department, yeah I’ll see some and one of, we’re trying to rectify some of these mistakes as times go by.”
Those mistakes are what the Belize Fire Department is trying to remedy. Last week Thursday, three firefighters from Norfolk Virginia came to Belize to train our fire fighters through fire training exercises using real fires. Today, one such exercise was held four miles outside Belize City. The handicaps they face on a daily basis surprised the trainers.
Porsha Rawles, Captain, Norfolk Fire Department and Paramedical Services
“I guess one of the initial things I noticed is the lack of personnel as far as the stations as they have one person per shift which is kind of surprising considering you have a fairly large populace and a lot of potential fire hazards that could occur here. And I guess the other thing we noticed was the equipment. They had one or two trucks we saw that were pretty good shape but fairly old equipment. We were kind of concerned with some of the hazards they have to fight with that they’re going to an adequate job.”
According to firefighter Ted Smith, the Fire Department could do a better than adequate job IF they had the proper equipment and the properly trained manpower. Smith says while firefighters are grateful for civilian support, sometimes they only get in way.
Ted Smith
“We need more pumpers, more breathing apparatus, more dividing breaching, more special type branch pipes and much more protective clothing. We know that the civilians like to help and we welcome their help but they don’t know how to help and many times they do not consult what the firefighters to find out how he could be of assistance.”
But sometimes we even question the assistance of firefighters as they seem hesitant in doing their job. Captain Rawles has observed this.
Porsha Rawles
“I think they have a love for the fire service but I do not believe that the enthusiasm is there and I think it’s because they are so many other obstacles and issues they’re dealing with. Like we found out that they’re not insured. In America we have disability. If we get hurt, we’re taken care of. Where here if they get hurt, it seems like they’re pretty much on their own and from your culture, the man is the head of the family and the breadwinner so I could see them not wanting to go into a burning building and take the chance of jeopardizing their family’s future by getting physically injured.”
Janelle Chanona
“Kenny how you feel when you go into a fire and you no have any gloves and anything to breathe with? How you feel?”
Kenny Arthur Garnett, Firefighter
“Well da wa bad feeling but you have to get used to it. The moment you go inna a fire and you no have on them thing deh, you put your own life in danger.
Janelle Chanona
“Despite low wages and poor equipment, the Fire Department is determined to get the personnel they need. Would Belizean women consider this job?”
Porsha Rawles
“The main thing, anybody can do this job, even a woman. A main thing is being physically fit and mentally preparing yourself for the danger of the job. Those of the main two obstacles. If you have those two things under control, you can do the job. I don’t see any problems with the women in Belize.”
Janelle Chanona
“Even though I wore the boots of a firefighter today, I don’t think I could ever fill the shoes of a Belizean firefighter and the fire I went into didn’t even come close to the fires these men face every time the call comes in.”
Janelle Chanona for News Five.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Windell Parham says a review of the entire Fire Department is underway. By the end of the year more fire trucks and equipment will be arriving and major changes will be forthcoming.
