Page 9 - January 2020

COMPANY MEMBERS & EVENTS
The tour also clearly illustrated that they are very reliant on donations. From the water tanker donated by Sapeurs-Pompiers Actions Internationales in 2016, their kit and 3 BA sets from the UK as well as the beds in the dormitories from local cruise ships. In order to support overseas donations, Carlos mentioned that they would raise local funds, such as for example the transport costs of one of their vehicles from overseas. He also mentioned that the trucks; especially the older ones, get repaired and maintained by the crew to make them last longer and go further.
The current three BA sets they
typical US style fire hydrants. So just as I raise the question in the UK about water provisions, I do the same here. And yes, water is a valuable commodity on the island. It appears that though there are hydrants, there is no guarantee that there is any water in the pipes. Apparently, the water mains and the areas they serve are zoned, and that depending on the time of day and day of the week, certain zones get their water supply turned off. Something that we had experienced one night at our own accommodation, causing a lot of confusion seeing we were all used to 24/7 water supply.
He illustrated the criticality of their
typical life safety requirements in town and more remote locations, as well as of course the unique heritage environmental and wild life considerations.
The issue of wild fires is of particular concern in many National Parks, but even more so with some of the unique flora and fauna. Carlos explained that he is planning of expanding the fire service provisions on some of the other nearby islands; Floriana and Espanola. Though Floriana is inhabited, it currently does not have a fire station. Espanola is uninhabited though very much on the tourist route due to being the only island where waved Albatross
nest.
These are ambitious and very needed plans to take the FRS forward and provide further protection to the islands. But it means more. More staff. More kit. More equipment. More training. With regards to the latter, he especially wanted to point out that they have plenty of free accommodation at the fire station, to assist anyone interested in providing them with some training and perhaps expand to exploring
have, donated by the UK are now 10 years old, and are perhaps not as well maintained as would be expected. He also pointed out that these are potentially less than the staff attending an incident. From his point of view, this is of a particular concern, as he had been reading about the recent potential link between cancers amongst fire fighters.
During my previous meanderings around town I noticed the more
water supply by one particular fire incident, a wild fire. They attended with their water tanker. When the tanker was empty, they naturally returned back to town to refill. However, the mayor stopped them due to the water provisions being needed for the town and the residents. After that experience they installed their own water tank at the station to have their own water reservoir. But what it also means is that they rely on a scarce resource on an island with the more
Follow us on twitter @LondonFire1666
www.flickr.com/photos/wcoff103/
https://www.facebook.com/wcoff1666/