More $$ needed to fight fires

He made the call at a seminar/workshop on "Firefighting in Urban Centres and Industrial Nodes," which saw representatives of the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA), Fire Services, Ministry of Planning and Development (Town and Country Planning Divi-sion), and the Ministry of Local Government, in attendance at Crowne Plaza.

The seminar came about in light of the major fires that occurred in the city of Port-of-Spain within the past two years.

"We need legislation for building codes and other requirements that are critical and legislation needs to be reviewed," he said.

Britten said that equipment and supplies are costly and often time-consuming.

He said the Fire Services have to rely on money which is also provided by the Government.

However, Britten said water tenders and tanks supply water during fires, but there are many problems when fires erupt.

"There is the distance, manpower, and sometimes traffic problems," he said.

He said a tank is limited to 1,800 litres of water and a water tender has 3,000 litres. The fire officer noted that it costs $22,000 for just one fire hydrant.

"The water authority mains were laid for domestic purposes," he stated. Britten said there are 6,500 hydrants in Trinidad and Tobago with salt and fresh water.

He said the saltwater system, which is in Port-of-Spain, is checked six times yearly, and the fresh water mains are inspected four times annually.