Fire Assoc head: Meeting with ministry, a 'disappointment'

FIRE Services Association president Leo Ramkissoon has described a meeting between officials of the Ministry of National Security and his association as "extremely disappointing."

Ramkissoon said he attended the meeting hoping to get immediate solutions to long-standing problems. However, he said he left that meeting hopeless that issues surrounding the efficiency and effectiveness of the service will be resolved anytime soon.

Speaking after the meeting, Ramkissoon said, “Information given to us at that meeting is that orders for spare parts and other materials to repair defects to trucks are to arrive in May and June.

“In terms of acquisition of new appliances which is really what is needed, given the age of the ones we have, we are not satisfied because we got no clear indication as to how long that process will actually take."

Asked if his expectations were reasonable considering the process and length of time it usually takes to procure fire tenders, Ramkissoon admitted his demands going into that meeting were unrealistic.

But given the current state of the service, he told Newsday his only demand is to have all the resources as soon as possible.

“Fire officers given that they have to respond without breathing apparatus and such poor equipment and in many instances, not having a fire truck at all, I don’t blame them if they exercise their right under section 14 and 15 of the OSH Act to refuse to work.

“I was just hoping for immediate relief, to see trucks placed at seven fire stations which do not have any at the moment, in the northern division this morning...call me naive.”

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hind said, during a live interview on a radio station, that a new fire tender would be in TT in three weeks.

Ramkissoon said he isn’t convinced relief would come in three weeks, as promised. “I still have to hope, but sadly, I can’t say (I am confident) relief is coming.”

Hinds later took to social media to deny a media article that suggested Wednesday’s meeting was called so that association members could ventilate their frustration over the lack of resources and that this meeting was called following the tragedy on Sunday where a woman and her daughter were killed in a fire in Siparia.

Hinds explained in his post that the meeting was planned and scheduled some three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, political leader of the National Transformation Alliance Gary Griffith has described Hinds' inability to outfit the Fire Service with resources as demonstrative of poor leadership and no management systems.

"What should have been done was to allocate resources from one area which has more than one fire tender and place them in areas which had none. Simple and basic," Griffith said in a press release on Wednesday.

Griffith claimed Hinds has failed to co-ordinate, liaise, inspire and motivate those under his charge.