2 blazes at new St Ann’s kitchen

Kitchen staff stopped work and the 1,000 patients at the facility were fed bread and jam and bread and cheese yesterday. The fires occurred at 8 am and 4 pm.

The first incident occurred while staff was preparing meals in a "trial run" at the kitchen. Sparks were seen at the northern end of the kitchen and cooks were forced to run for safety as the kitchen became engulfed in smoke.

Public Services Association staff representative Oral Saunders said, "one worker had to go on the roof to put out the fire. When someone pulled the fire alarm, it did not go off."

The breaker was turned off.

The second fire occurred in the afternoon when "everything settled" and a worker turned on the breaker. No one was injured in either incident.

Saunders said workers were angry because management did not meet with them immediately after the fires occurred. Meals will continue to be prepared in the temporary kitchen occupied since 2003.

Cooks have been clamouring for the refurbished kitchen to be opened since a stove caught fire in the temporary kitchen last February.

PSA first vice-president, Stephen Thomas said, "the management of the North West Regional Health Authority continues to be reckless and irresponsible and put workers’ lives at risk."

He said the "arrangement" in the Public Service was that the union would be notified after extensive renovations had been completed, and its health and safety team would investigate to ensure safety requirements were met before workers occupied the area.

Thomas said the union would not have known that workers were in the kitchen if the fires had not occurred.

He said when TT Electricity Commission (TTEC) officials checked on the electrical wiring yesterday, they were appalled.

"They disconnected it."

Thomas said electricians at St Ann’s have been operating by trial and error because there is no plan of the electrical wiring at the hospital.

"If they link two wires and there is no fire, then they say everything is alright."

After a meeting with the union yesterday, NWRHA management agreed to hire a private electrical contractor to do the wiring and for TTEC’s electrical inspectorate to certify any electrical work undertaken.

The PSA has requested that the wiring to be colour-coded.

An official at St Ann’s confirmed the fire and said the contractor hired by the NWRHA electrical engineering department "put the wrong wire in the wrong outlet."

He said a consultant would inspect the electrical wiring on Monday. The building was not damaged, but he did not know if any new equipment had been damaged. He said steam and gas would be used to cook hot meals.