Acting Chief Fire Officer waits for committee’s findings on Farfan Street fire

ACTING Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Andy Hutchinson chose his words carefully when asked whether the Fire Service was considering reviewing and revising its fire-response measures.

In a phone interview with Newsday on January 6, Hutchinson said there were “lots of things we are doing,” but refrained from commenting further, citing the need to await the findings of the committee appointed by Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds.

The committee was established on December 20, to investigate the Fire Service’s response to the December 16 blaze that claimed the lives of MP Lisa Morris-Julian and her two children at their Farfan Street, Arima home.

The committee members include former CFO Roosevelt Bruce (chairman), Occupational Safety and Health Authority chairman Curt Cadet and Office of the Attorney General attorney Vashti Mahabir.

Hutchinson said, “After the committee has finished their investigation and I feel like I can comment on these things (I will)…I don’t want to comment now and then cause prejudice at this time.

“Those are questions I can probably entertain at a later time.”

Hutchinson became acting CFO in September 2024, when former CFO Arnold Bristo went on pre-retirement leave.

During the 2025 budget discussions in October last year, the Fire Services Association (FSA) raised urgent concerns about a drastic 64 per cent reduction in funding for new vehicles and equipment.

Newsday also contacted FSA president Keone Guy by WhatsApp on January 6 and asked if the Fire Services were looking at reviewing their operations and resources and revising their response to fires.

“As far as I’m aware, the fire service is not engaged in a review of its operations or resources at this time.

“We are optimistic that the new CFO will commission such an exercise as we are of the view that review and monitoring of policies and the needs of the organisation are critical to maintaining operational effectiveness.”

Numerous lives have been lost in fires owing to a shortage of fire tenders in various areas, according to a media release issued by the FSA on December 17.

In 2021, three young children – Ezekiel, Faith and Kayden Burke – died in a fire at Rookery Nook, Maraval. At the time the Woodbrook Fire Station, responsible for that area, lacked a functioning fire appliance.

In September 2023, Malcolm Diaz, a visually impaired senior citizen, lost his life in a fire near the Santa Cruz Fire Station, which was not equipped with a fire tender.

In March 2024, four families in the Penal and Barrackpore areas were displaced by separate fires while the Penal Fire Station remained without a fire tender.

In December 2024, a call was made to the Arima Fire Station about the fire that claimed the lives of Morris-Julian, Minister in the Ministry of Education, and her two children on December 16.

The station’s fire truck was unavailable, having been deployed to an industrial fire. The Tunapuna Fire Station was subsequently contacted, but its truck was also busy, responding to another house fire.

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