There are only two fire appliances (trucks) at the disposal of the Kingstown branch of the Fire Service, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has told Parliament.
He was responding to a question from Central Kingstown MP, St. Clair Leacock, the shadow minister of national security.
Leacock also asked about the total complement of “firemen” at the Kingstown branch of the Fire Service; the number of fires that the Fire Service can attend to competently in the city of Kingstown; and, the kinds of fires they are equipped to extinguish.
One of the two firetrucks was sent to St. Vincent at the end of its service in North America.
Gonsalves said the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure show that the government is spending just over EC$5 million on the fire service this year.
“And there are 109 firefighters here on the books,” the prime minister said, adding that their salaries amount to just over EC$4 million.
He said that of the two fire appliances available to the Kingstown branch of the fire service, one was doing some maintenance work.
Gonsalves further said there were 18 firefighters at the Kingstown branch, “plus other members of the constabulary who will assist if need be”.
He said the Fire Service could competently attend to two fires at the same time in Kingstown.
“And then, of course, they can get appliances from other areas,” he said, adding that the Fire Service was equipped to extinguish five classes of fire.
“They didn’t give me the classes of fires,” the prime minister told lawmakers.