NFS says Belize Needs More Fire Stations  

The past several weeks have been wrought with discomfort, as Belize experiences one of the worst heatwaves to date and while forest fires are not an uncommon occurrence for this time of year, the severity of the weather condition has made them especially difficult to manage. Earlier this week, a raging wildfire in San Pedro, Columbia destroyed up to fifteen hundred acres of farmland in Toledo. And heading northwest, several fires have laid waste to land along the George Price Highway and Mountain Pine Ridge. As these fires rage on, communities struggle to contain these infernos with limited resources. Today, we sat down with Kenneth Mortis, Station Officer at the National Fire Service, to learn how the department is combating the issue.

 

Kenneth Mortis, Station Officer, National Fire Service

“The statistics will show that houses destroyed as a result of open bushfires are relatively on the rise. Again, that is something that we’re looking at. So what we need to do from a fire department standpoint is take a step back on and try to dialogue with the ministry as best as we can or the government or the powers that be to see how we can now start setting up midpoint in between heavily dense area versus lower area. If you look at Belize, for example, you have Belize, then there’s a station in Ladyville, but there isn’t anything between Belize and Hattieville. So people say, well, oh, so why we have Ladyville then? You know if I send from Ladyville to eight miles on the north on the western or as Westlake then that entire Ladyville stretch is abandoned. And if I take one of my trucks from Belize and I send that to the eight-mile community then I leave Belize City handicapped because I have one truck actually for coverage. A couple nights ago, we were experienced with a bushfire on Freedom Street Belize city but then the lady called and says there’s a bushfire threatening house in eight miles. I had to respond. The last thing I want somebody to say is, we’re continuously being negligent in, in how we respond to these emergencies. Is that some of the smartest move to make? No, it’s not. But at the end of the day, as a fire department, then we must be prepared to do what we sign up for, and that is to protect this country from fires and other related disasters as best as we possibly can. So we will continue to be faced with this type of situation. The dry is upon us. It’s here. There isn’t anything we can do. It will be an extended heat wave for an extended period of time. So the best that we can do  is start the fire safety from within. Whether it’s you as an individual, you as a family, you as a community, you as a neighborhood, let us see what we can do to prevent the loss of structures.”