A disaster waiting to happen

Responding to questions at yesterday’s public meeting of the Joint Select Committee, Chief Fire Officer, Lennox Alfred, said the service planned to purchase eight more dinghies. He said when flooding occurs currently, and there was need for evacuation, the entity was forced to use "ropes and lines" until the Coast Guard arrived. Alfred said only $4 million had been allocated for the purchase of minor equipment, including dinghies.

The National Security Ministry’s Permanent Secretary (PS) Anthony Bartholomew, acting PS Jennifer Boucaud-Blake, Deputy PS Veronica Belgrave, Director of Finance and Accounts Bernadine Thomas, CEO of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) Paul Saunders, and Alfred, were yesterday called on to report to the Joint Select Committee on the issue of disaster preparedness.

The committee comprised Deputy Speaker Rawle Titus, Opposition Senator Wade Mark, MP Eddie Hart, Hedwidge Bereaux and Senator Satish Ramroop.

The meeting, which was held at the Parliamentary Chamber, was chaired by Senator Parvatee Anmolsingh-Mahabir.

Neither Mark nor Bereaux was satisfied with the answers coming from the Chief Fire Officer, and they demanded a report on the state of the fire services, the standards it followed, and an update on the Piarco Fire Station, which Mark claimed was three years overdue with heavy cost overruns. The Opposition Senator also requested a report on training within the Fire Services, the number of fire stations in this country, and the standard number that this country is supposed to have.

The report is expected to be presented to the committee in 14 days from receipt of the Hansard by the Ministry of National Security.

Regarding the issue of disaster relief as it relates to the recently established ODPM, the committee was told that the ODPM was more of a coordinating mechanism, unlike other entities, which were better equipped for a quick response.

The ODPM replaced the National Emergency Management Agency last October. According to Saunders, the work of the ODPM could not be viewed in isolation, and its main function was to alert the various relief agencies of any problems.