The councillor's plea comes in the wake of the destruction by fire of a five-bedroom house in Greendale last Tuesday.

"The fire hydrant was at the gate of the house. However, it could not be saved as it was not working. The personnel were totally helpless," Scott told The Gleaner yesterday morning.

Other St Catherine fire stations are suffering from malfunctioning equipment. One Waterford fire truck which accommodates seven personnel has been out of use for two months. The disabled unit, which has a capacity of 400 gallons of water, is hampering the ability of personnel to respond effectively to fires.

"We think that while the call (for more equipment) is justified, there needs to be a closer collaboration with the National Water Commission to boost the feed of the water to where there are hydrants," said Superintendent Delworth Sutherland, who is stationed at Waterford.

"Most importantly, persons have to be educated that they should not park at the hydrants or throw garbage in them," he added.

State Minister Robert Montague, the point man on local government issues such as the fire service, said on July 30 that only 40 per cent of the hydrants in St Catherine were operable.

Equipment woes are endemic to Jamaica's fire brigade.

rasbert.turner@gleanerjm.com