BARBADOS, Dec 13, 2008 - The Barbados Fire Service is at the cross roads in terms of its development, but there are several issues standing in the way of such development.

That was the view put forward by the Chairman of the Barbados Fire Service Association (BFSA), Clarence Hinds. Giving the opening remarks at the start of the annual general meeting of the association, Hinds lamented the fact that there have been no promotions within the Service since 2004 and that no appointments have been made within the last two years. This situation, he maintained, was as a result of the strong arm tactics of the former administration and a system that does not lend for accountability or transparency.

"We have had the unfortunate situation where the last batch of Fire Officers is still not certain of their status after two years, because for the first time we have employed officers as temporary officers. This has led to much insecurity among these officers who are left to question the system - a system which assures them that it would only take a civil establishment order and that would have been sorted out before the recruitment period was completed," he said.

He added that now those 32 officers are being told that an act which came into being one year later, is being used retroactively and their service would start from the day of appointment to the post and not the originally agreed to date.