The new Port Maria Fire Station, built at a cost of $258 million, was officially opened and handed over on Friday, Jan.13.
The brand-new facility, spread over a four-building compound, can accommodate up to 80 firefighters and boasts an administrative block, engine bays, male and female dormitories, a conference room, two fire trucks, and emergency management services. It will serve 48 communities in and around the St. Mary capital, JIS reported.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in his address at the ceremony, said: “We are expecting that with this new facility, the morale of our firefighters will be improved, their capabilities to respond will improve, the relationship between firefighting services and the community will improve, and the entire township/parish capital will feel a renewed sense that Jamaica is paying attention to their needs,” he noted.
The Prime Minister recalled that the previous facility “was a small, antiquated building” which was closed in 2006. After the closure, the fire brigade operated in rented premises at various locations in the Port Maria area.
The staff moved into the new facility East of the town of Port Maria, in November of last year.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Desmond McKenzie said: “this is not just a brand new fire station that will serve the people of Port Maria and surrounding communities. It is the latest component of unprecedented infrastructure for social protection and national asset management that the Government is building through the services provided by the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB),” he pointed out.
.Minister McKenzie said that every fire station in Jamaica now has at least one functioning fire truck, and last year, some 189 recruits joined the organisation.
Implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the DVRP is funded by a loan from the World Bank.
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Prime Minister Andrew Holness (fourth left) and Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Desmond McKenzie (third left), cut the ribbon to officially hand over the Port Maria Fire Station in St. Mary on Friday, January 13. Joining them (from left), are: Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) Commissioner, Stewart Beckford; Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) Managing Director, Omar Sweeney; Member of Parliament for St. Mary Western, Robert Montague; Mayor of Port Maria, Councillor Richard Creary; Member of Parliament for St. Mary Central, Dr. Morais Guy; and Assistant Commissioner, JFB, Julian Davis-Buckle.
