Short of manpower and working with a mandate to do more with less, firefighters in Barbados are running up substantial hours in overtime.

Speaking to the media yesterday after a service at Hawthorne Methodist Church to kick off a week of activities to mark the Barbados Fire Service’s 58th anniversary, which was in April, Chief Fire Officer Wilfred Marshall said the agency was trying to bring the extra hours under control.

“That is something that we’re addressing at this stage. Yes, we have to put in a lot of hours in overtime,” he admitted.

He said there was a definite need for increased manpower to help with the load.

“Again we have to work within the constraints of Government’s financial position at this time,” he said.

With the expansion of housing solutions in the country, Marshall said the service would welcome anything that would improve its response time. As far as another station goes, he said the current financial situation notwithstanding, a station at Six Roads, St Philip, is still “being favourably considered at this time”.

“A fire station at Six Roads would lessen the response time within the St Philip area and within the southern part of Christ Church. Yes, every other fire station is a plus for us,” Marshall said.

Source: Nation News 2013/09/30