Westmoreland firefighters wary of crank calls

SENIOR DISTRICT Officer Norris Mitchell, of the Westmoreland division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, is pleading for the public to stop abusing the fire service by making hoax calls as, according to him, the practice is creating confusion and unnecessary use of the brigade’s valuable resources.

Addressing last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation ( WMC), Mitchell did not give specific figures as it relates to the number of crank calls. He said those calls made up a substantial number of the 738 fire calls between January 2023 and May 2023.

According to Mitchell, firefighters must respond to every call because they have no way of determining which ones are bogus. He also noted that, over the period in question, six people – two adults and four children, perished in fires in the parish.

According to Mitchell, they have identified some communities where residents are seeking to make it a habit to make crank calls and he is urging them to end the practice.

“We are having some serious problems with false calls, especially from the Hatfield area, in a place called Gaza Bridge. We got numerous fake calls from Gaza Bridge,” explained Mitchell. “I can remember one night when I went on a call at Gaza Bridge, the police were there as well. When I went there the citizens were saying that they are tired of it now.”

The senior firefighter says he is particularly concerned about the situation as the police, who are facing a challenging situation with crime and violence, are also being called, as, like the firefighters, they are also first responders.

Cebert McFarlane, the councillor for the Leamington division in the WMC, said he was quite unhappy about the fake call situation and wants the authorities to toughen the penalty for anybody found guilty of making the prank calls to the fire service and the police.

“In general, I believe the penalty for making false calls should be so severe that it would make people think twice about making these calls,” said McFarlane. “You should not feel it is okay to call the fire brigade when you know nothing is happening. You cannot take it as a joke and then expect to get away with it.”

In addition to wasting time and resources, crank calls can also be very dangerous as they expose firefighters to unnecessary danger. There have been numerous cases of fire trucks being involved in fatal accidents while responding to fake calls.