The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) yesterday commissioned a US$1.4 million fireboat, which Fire Chief Marlon Gentle said would better equip the service to battle onshore fires and offer humanitarian assistance.
The fireboat, named the “Protector,” was procured from funds allocated in 2017 and 2018 budgets, Gentle told the commissioning ceremony, which was held at the Transport and Harbours Department Wharf at Stabroek.
The boat, which was constructed by UK-based company Angloco Limited, has the capacity to pump over 5,000 gallons of water per minute.
Delivering the feature address at the ceremony, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan said that the procurement of the vessel indicates government’s commitment to protecting the assets of Guyanese people and their wellbeing. “This very vulnerable waterfront in Port Georgetown, with its massive wharves and warehouses and cargo handling facilities that process billions of dollars of shipping goods, stock and fuel, needs to be protected,” Ramjattan stressed while highlighting the importance of the new boat.
He also cited the construction of fire stations in regions 1, 4, 5, 8, and 9, and the hiring of over 200 firefighters within the last four years. The fire service, through the Public Security Ministry, has also been able to procure 10 new water tenders, five ambulances, and an aircraft firefighting rescue vehicle.
Ramjattan said that for this year over half a billion dollars have been spent by government to boost the capacity and services of the GFS.
He urged the fire service to ensure that the vessel is taken care of so that it “can serve the people of Guyana for a very long time.”
Among other things, Ramjattan said, the boat will be used for supporting shore-based fire suppression operations by supplying large volumes of water to land-based firefighting units, assisting with water rescues and ambulance services, protecting shoreline installation from fires, and supporting environmental stability operations in case of spills and environmental cleanup after chemical release incidents.
Meanwhile, Gentle said that over the last 30 years the fire service has made numerous efforts to acquire a fireboat but their efforts never bore fruit.
“Over 30 years we have been without a boat, so we would have had no expertise within the fire service even though they [firefighters] had exposure to marine firefighting training,” Gentle said while explaining that he was happy the fire service is now equipped with such an important asset.
He said the service couldn’t have been an effective national firefighting unit and servicing the needs of the country without having a boat, which is why it had made many requests in the past.
He stated that in the past the GFS had tried to use a tug and other kinds of vessels but they did not produce the results it was looking for.
“Port Georgetown remains a high risk area in our firefighting plan because of its import and export windows at the wharves. This is why a marine sector of the fire service is important for us to carry out our mandate,” Gentle stressed.
The Fire Chief stated that 17 ranks were trained by the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard within the last two years to form the marine section of the GFS.
