Adrian Frater, News Editor

The partially submerged fire boat, which Montego Bay mayor, councillor Charles Sinclair, wants replaced with a new vessel.- contributed

Western Bureau:

Montego Bay's mayor, Councillor Charles Sinclair, is not interested in sal-vaging the city's lone fire boat, which was damaged and left partially submerged recently. Instead, he is seeking to acquire a new and more suitable vessel.

"I really don't know what plans the Jamaica Fire Brigade has in place to repair that boat and how much it will cost, but my thinking is that we should get a new boat," says Mayor Sinclair. "As far a I know, it was a limping, inadequate fire boat."

He says the vessel is inadequate for the needs of the city, because it is too small to effectively fight a major fire in the harbour. "It is inadequate for what we have passing through the harbour. I seriously fear what could happen should we have a fire on one of those cruise ships that come here weekly," states Sinclair.

heavy damage

"What we really need is a new fire boat and I have just completed writing a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister requesting that Montego Bay be provided with a new fire boat," adds the mayor. "I am hoping that we will be able to get this new fire boat in the shortest time possible."

The vessel, which is normally anchored in proximity to the River Bay Fishing Beach in Montego Bay, was damaged when heavy winds generated by a cold front repeatedly slammed it against huge rocks along the coastline on the morning of Thursday, January 3.

According to Assistant Super-intendent Vincent Allen, a fireman who ventured into eight to ten feet of water in a bid to save the vessel, sustained a serious injury to his leg.

In addition to seeking a new boat for Montego Bay, Mayor Sinclair said he would also be pressing to have a new fire station built in the city, as he was not comfortable with the current conditions under which firemen were operating.

"The firemen are now operating out of a location where the administrative office and the fire units are at different locations," says Mayor Sinclair. "The fire chief is unhappy with that situation and I believe the way around it is to build a new fire station."