Tolerance no option for fire hazards
INDIVIDUALS, AS has been implied by fire chief Stewart Beckford, owe a responsibility to their own safety. So we understand Mr Beckford’s advice to partygoers over the Christmas season about where they fête.
“There will be parties at different venues all over the island,” Mr Beckford said at a press briefing last week. “We ask that you are aware of the buildings that you go into to have a good time.”
This vigilance should be all year round. But the larger obligation for public safety, including the prevention of injury, death, and destruction through fire, rests with the State, part of whose responsibility, in this regard, rests with the Jamaica Fire Brigade, whose authority is set out in law.
Indeed, the Fire Brigade Act charges the brigade to, among other things:
• Obtain information with regard to potential risks from fire or other disaster. • Inspect specified buildings to ensure that reasonable steps are taken for the prevention of fire and for protection against the dangers of fire or other disaster.
• Make arrangements for ensuring that reasonable steps are taken to prevent or mitigate loss or injury arising from fire or other disaster.
In circumstances where established regulations for these protections are not adhered to, thereby placing life and property at risk, the Fire Brigade can cause offending individuals and premises to be sanctioned, including barring the occupation of buildings or their use for commercial enterprises.
It is in that context that fire chief Beckford’s revelation at last week’s briefing is significant.
Of 1,019 places of amusement inspected by the Fire Brigade in the 11 months up to November, only 140, or 14 per cent, were “certified” as “fit for use”.
“Some of these places are operating without fire alarms, smoke and heat detectors, (or) exit or emergency signs,” Mr Beckford said.
Many also do not have alternative exits, and in some cases, the alternatives are blocked. In other words, they are, especially if crowded as places of entertainment, wont to be potential fire traps.
NOT ENOUGH
It is Jamaica’s good fortune, in the circumstance, that, unlike many other countries where firesafety regulations have not been observed, we have not faced a major tragedy. It is good that the Fire Brigade, as Mr Beckford said, is working to educate Jamaicans about these dangers.
That, however, isn’t enough. The municipal authorities and the health ministry have to be aggressive in shutting down these non-compliant entities. We appreciate the inclination to give them time to “regularise” the breaches. But unless these are minor, such as the lack of signs, which is an immediate fix, the danger is too great to provide room for tolerance.
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie’s plan to publish the names of venues operating without licences and permits is, on the face of it, good. That, however, isn’t the answer when they shouldn’t be operating in the first place.