Defective hydrants hampered city firefight

Despite all the problems experienced in the blaze on Saturday, Fire Services Chief Fire Officer, Lennox Alfred, yesterday told reporters his men had all the resources to battle another major disaster, and were pleased with their efforts in Saturday’s blaze.

Speaking at the Ministry of Public Utilities, Alfred lamented the fact that hydrants in the city were defective even though they are supposed to be inspected by the Fire Services twice within every six-month period. However, Alfred was unable to remember the last time the hydrants were inspected.

He also indicated that people had been removing the brass "lugs" from the hydrants, which are used for the hose to fit into the hydrant to get to the water. "People take these lugs to sell and make other uses for them. Anyone found committing these acts will be charged and arrested," said Alfred.

Alfred denied that the spread of the fire was caused by faulty equipment, as businessmen believed leaky hoses wasted a lot of water. "It is normal for hoses to have holes in them, but we repair them after use. Nothing can sustain fire for a long length of time, we did lose one hose in the fire," said Alfred.

A total of ten fire trucks from Port-of-Spain, Belmont, Tunapuna, San Juan and Chaguanas battled the fire. However, Alfred said the People’s Mall structure proved difficult for firefighters. "The narrow passages of the mall, which were most of the time blocked by items, left little space for firefighters to manoeuvre on the ground. Some of the structures were also two-storey buildings all cluttered together, with no separating walls. This allowed strong westerly winds to carry embers onto other buildings," said Alfred. The second fire, which occurred on the opposite side of the People’s Mall, resulted from heat radiation from the first fire and burning embers through the air.

Responding to the lack of water, WASA CEO Errol Grimes admitted the saltwater mains were more than 50 years old in Port-of-Spain. This left WASA to rely on fresh water mains from only two functioning hydrants — one on Queen and Henry Streets, and the other on Henry and Abercromby Streets. "WASA improved the pipe borne supply of water by raising the water pressure from the Laventille reservoir. There will be funding from the Ministry of National Security to do an evaluation on the saltwater system, in order to replace the old mains in the city and upgrade the pump house," said Grimes.

Through the efforts of the Ministry of National Security, the Fire Services Department has ordered $55 million worth of fire fighting appliances and equipment, which is due to arrive within the next two months. Fifteen million dollars will be awarded for purchasing of firefighting equipment for the airport, and $42.2 million awarded to other manufacturers. That batch of equipment includes six fire tenders, six water tankers, three hydraulic platforms, one turn table ladder, one hazardous material incident unit and one major airport vehicle for Tobago.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of the fire.