Smoke from Heritage installation affects Point Fortin

FOUR DAYS after a bush fire ravaged parts of Point Fortin where Heritage’s installations are located, it has left smoke billowing from the area, affecting hundreds of residents in the neighbouring "fenceline" communities.

One resident, Ernesto Kesar, a former Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) branch president at Trinmar, said this is because neither the TT Fire Service nor Heritage is taking responsibility for bringing the smoke under control.

Kesar who lives at Austin Road, Mahaica, said, “When residents went to the fire station, officers told them that is not their responsibility, to go to Heritage.

" When they went to Heritage, they were referred to the TT fire service.

"This thing has been going on since Saturday and clearly there seems to be a lack of co-ordination and the people in authority are unwilling to take responsibility for this situation.”

He said after talking to affected residents of Clifton Hill and Techier, on Tuesday morning, “I was told not a single authority has responded. Not Heritage, not the fire service, not the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), the Environmental Authority (EMA), or the OSH Authority.”

He said he had been there this morning, "And the smoke is bad.

"Four days now it's smouldering. I spoke to people who said their neighbours are falling ill from respiratory issues, that they have been complaining about eyes burning, feeling like sand in their throats, nausea and weakness.”

In the past, he said, Petrotrin/Trinmar "would have rushed into action to put out the fire and control the smoke, because we don’t know what chemiclas we are inhaling.”

A former Petrotrin employee at the HSE Fire Department, Sheldon Wells, told Newsday, “We would have taken pride in our jobs, extinguishing all the fires around, in the exact areas that are smoking now to save the company from litigation and to ensure the residents were comfortable. We would have gone into bushy areas in Point Fortin, Palo Seco, Forest Reserve, with the fire truck, ambulance, necessary chemicals, utility vehicle with extra equipment, to take care of business. We were able to save houses and save people from burning houses and in so doing, save the company billions in litigation and bad publicity.”

“We were applauded by villagers," he added. "Now these same villagers are cussing Heritage.”

Wells who also lives in Mahaica and is affected by the smoke, said he too contacted Heritage but was told it was not an HSE matter.

In a statement, the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government said the Point Fortin Borough Corporation's Disaster Management Unit was activated until 12.30 am and made site visits to the affected areas with the assistance of the municipal police.

“The area continues to be hazy and, in some areas, depending on wind direction there will be excessive smoke at intervals.”

The ministry denied there was any mass evacuation of residents and said it was liaising with the Fire Service, municipal police and Heritage Petroleum.

It also said shelter managers and shelter remained on stand-by.

Newsday called mayor Abdon Mason's cellphone, buthe person who answered said he was in a meeting and asked Newsday to call back.