Report due today

Chief Fire Officer Lennox Alfred has appointed divisional fire officer Keith Greaves, the Head of Training at the Chaguaramas Training Facility, to conduct an immediate investigation into the state of facilities at the institution. He has also ordered that the report be submitted in 24 hours. This comes in wake of the death of 38-year-old fire officer Dale Jackson who died from suspected leptospirosis on Tuesday. An autospy carried out revealed that the cause of death was inconclusive and blood and tissue samples have been sent for further tests. The results are expected to be made known at the end of October.

Jackson, who had been a member of the Fire Service since 1993 was the father of three. He was admitted to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital on September 16 with symptoms of dengue and died on Tuesday. Yesterday, John Springle, the public relations/welfare and research officer of the Fire Services, said that claims by the Fire Services Association about the Chaguaramas facility being overrun with mosquitoes and rats were false and unfounded. On Tuesday, president of the Fire Services Association Lennox London said he believed that senior fire officers did not want word to get out about the number of dengue cases at Chaguaramas. He also claimed that about ten other officers have been diagnosed with symptoms similar to Jackson’s, but he felt that the authorities were trying to cover up the issue.

Springle, in response to those claims, said that Coast Guard officers used the facility to train for several months, and they experienced no problems. Springle claimed that the Solid Waste Management assisted with clean-up operations at the facility. He said that on July 8, the Ministry of Health sprayed in and around the facilities, and on July 22, the Ministry of Health carried out a routine visit. Then, on July 28, the Diego Martin Regional Corporation placed rodent poison in and around the training centre and on September 16, the Ministry of Health again visited and placed granules in and around the facility.