The Guyana Fire Service on Sunday hosted operation “Get Ready” on Robb Street, Georgetown, as it tests the ability of 60 of its ranks to respond to major fires.
Speaking with the media during the exercise, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, who was on site, said that the fire service is testing its operational assets as well as its preparedness for any major fire.
“…So the effort is to test both the readiness and functionality of the equipment, but also the engagement of the crews and the management,” Minister Benn said.
As part of the exercise, several fire trucks, the high ladder truck and the fire boat, which was sending water from the Demerara River at the John Fernandes Wharf, were operationalised.
“We are rolling out both the fire service and its sister unit the emergency management personnel and assets, the ambulance service, which has been busy, we recently opened up the fire stations at Melanie along with an ambulance unit, Mabaruma, Mahdia and Lethem are fire stations that are to be operationalised. “We all know what the risk of fire means to the city itself, Georgetown but also the outlying communities and interior communities, so this is the response both in relation to fires, mitigation and prevention, and the lifesaving aspect and response related to emergency ambulance services,” Benn is quoted by DPI as saying.
He also emphasised that public relations will be ramped up to spread awareness to communities, using social and traditional media to spread the messages in relation to fire prevention and safety.
Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn examining the fire boat on Sunday during operation “Get Ready”
Additionally, all fire hydrants in the city are being checked.
“Testing the functionality of the hydrants, what work is needed to repair them over a period of time, and also to identify the lines leading to them whether they could be pressurised or would have to be replaced, so that’s a big assessment project that is underway,” Benn said.
The Deputy Chief Fire Officer noted that the equipment acquired through the Government of Guyana’s initiative will boost the service’s strength and will help them to be better prepared for any eventuality.
The Government, he said, will continue to invest in ensuring that the GFS is adequately equipped to fight fires in Guyana. The five recently acquired fire trucks were also part of the exercise.
Chief Fire Officer Kalamadeen Edoo and Deputy Fire Chief Gregory Wickham were present during the activity on Sunday.
