Cabinet on Wednesday approved renaming the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) to reflect its more visible role in rescue operations, the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the ministry said the name change to the Guyana Fire and Rescue Service would reflect the role of the department as one which offers services based on the resources and skills similar to other fire departments around the world. It added that it would seek to have the necessary legislative amendments effected in order to reflect the name change.
Home Minister Clement Rohee, at a forum on security on Monday, had stated that the rebranding of the fire service was suggested at a recent retreat to reflect a long established function it has carried out.
In its statement, the ministry noted that the GFS was first established as the British Guiana Fire Brigade and Ambulance Service. It explained that the ambulance services offered by the agency were extended to the public in case of an emergency or as a paid service in the event that a person could not walk and had to be conveyed by a stretcher to a hospital. However, subsequent to the renaming the Guyana Fire Brigade and Ambulance Service to the Guyana Fire Service, the ambulance services were handed over to the Ministry of Health, primarily for use at the public hospitals.
Nonetheless, the ministry said that although it appears to the public that the GFS tends solely to fires, it has also been involved in rescue operations, especially road accident emergencies, ‘gain entries’ and high angle rescues using hydraulic platforms. It added that fire-fighters have also benefitted from training in first aid, land search and rescue, response to chemical incidents, road accidents rescue and other humanitarian responses. Additionally, it noted that the GFS played a crucial role during the 2005 flood as part of the Joint Services Coordinating Centre operated in tandem with the Civil Defence Commission and the other Disciplined Services.
As evidence of its intention to take on a more visible role in rescue operations, the GFS will soon acquire three ambulances as part of its vehicular response fleet in addition to other rescue resources supportive of the strategy to transform it into a modern responsive institution, the statement added.
