IRONICALLY, AT the same time that the Jamaica Fire Brigade was warning that many night-clubs in the Corporate Area were fire hazards, fire-fighters took industrial action last week to protest their conditions of service.
Only two of 45 night-clubs which have been inspected over the last two years in Kingston and St Andrew have been assessed as safe to operate with respect to fire risks. Problems include inadequate means of escape with no alternative emergency staircase, lack of trained personnel to handle emergencies, signage, and lack of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in some areas.
Night-clubs are not the only delinquents. Many other public facilities, including government buildings, are in a similar condition as fire hazards. Only one of 10 theatres inspected, and six of 23 hotels were satisfactory. We are reasonably certain that many schools, churches, offices, shops and shopping plazas, apartment complexes and houses would prove to be dangerous fire hazards if inspected by the Brigade.
The lack of inspection on a far more comprehensive basis and the lack of teeth in the municipal laws regulating fire safety are themselves part of the hazard. The KSAC clearly does not have the capacity to enforce the law. There is also a characteristic daredevil Jamaican attitude that it can't happen to us to contend with. It is displayed in reaction to the risk of natural disasters, in driving on the roads, and, of course, also in our attitude to fire hazards.
Security against crime has had the effect of compromising safety in other areas like fire. Heavy grilling, too few exits, barriers, and electronic security features can all hamper quick exit from a building on fire. Statistically, it is only a matter of time before there is a major fire in a high human density facility, with serious loss of life, if the risk factors identified are not mitigated.
The Brigade is itself in poor condition. There have been numerous complaints about the slowness and incapacity of responses to fires. The service is understaffed, underpaid, and must struggle to respond with old and inadequate equipment. It is scandalous that officers must rely on a regular system of overtime to earn a barely adequate living wage. It was the absence of the monthly overtime cheque which prompted a work-to-rule protest in parts of the service last week.
