La Grange Fire Station to begin operations shortly

The new fire station at La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD), is expected to be commissioned shortly. This is according to Deputy Fire Chief Compton Sparman who revealed that while he is unable to disclose the exact date of the commissioning, it is expected to be soon. Earlier this year, Fire Chief Marlon Gentle had announced that the Station would begin operations before the 50th Independence anniversary as at that time the building was close to completion.

Gentle had explained that the Guyana Fire Service was awaiting fire tenders and trucks that would serve that Station. A sum of $18.6 million has been allocated for the construction of the building; however, the cost of the fire tenders has not yet been disclosed. Residents of La Grange and surrounding areas have been continuously expressing concerns over the fact that the area, which is highly populated and surrounded by developing housing schemes, was not equipped with a fire station.

The closest fire station is the Leonora Fire Station located on West Coast Demerara (WCD); however, owing to the distance it cannot effectively manage fires on West Bank Demerara.

As such, on most occasions when fires occur, the central fire station located in Georgetown responds as it takes a shorter time to arrive in these areas. The Wales Sugar Estate occasionally offers assistance to surrounding areas. The Estate usually deploys a pump on a Canter truck which uses water from surrounding canals and drains to extinguish the fires. Melanie Browne, a resident of La Grange explained that the commissioning of a fire station in the area would provide much relief as well as a sense of security on the occasion of a fire. “When we have fires over here, it takes a long while for the trucks to reach the house and most times when they get here the place almost completely burnt down,” the woman explained. “So we are glad that we are getting a fire station because it is something that we have been waiting for and something that we need,” she stated.

Another resident was quite pessimistic about the announcement as he related that they are constantly being told that the fire station would begin operations “soon” yet to date this is not so. “Man, they always saying that they opening the fire station soon but soon never reach. Since last year abbey hear them seh them fuh start wuk it, yet it still deh close up deh,” Jailall related.