EDITORIAL
Once again this year, fire officials and many others have expressed concern over the number of fires that have been recorded since the beginning of the year. In the first four months of this year, at 723 fires, Barbados recorded an increase in “house, motor and commercial fires” for the same period in 2017. This trend does not bode well for Barbados since the effects of these fires on the people and the economy are adverse and potentially long-term.
Every year, we are generally advised to be cautious about the amount of water that is used per household. Despite this, we fail to recognise that large amounts of water are being used to combat a number of fires across the island, particularly grass and cane fires. Barbados is a water scarce country and even though the Barbados Water Authority is forging forward with updates to their mains network and other systems and equipment, there are still several cases of breaks and leakages, hence we can ill afford to waste water. While there are sure to be several contributing factors to the fires, there seem also to have been cases of arson, as evidenced recently when two were charged with associated offences. The careless disposal of cigarette butts appears to be another likely cause of some of the fires. In addition, studies have shown that illegal dumping, particularly of glass, has contributed to the ignition of fires when the glass is exposed to the sun’s rays. With regard to motor vehicle fires, Chief Fire Officer, Errol Maynard while noting that these types of fires were of particular concern to the department, said that owners need to “have their vehicles checked by qualified technicians regularly to ensure there were no defects…”
Something must be done about this situation that is clearly affecting us to our detriment. The tireless members of the Barbados Fire Service deserve our support. Fires, regardless of how they are set, can be a hazard to properties since the dislocation to home or business puts strain on the
victims’ financial position. There have been reports within the last two months of people who lost property as a result of these fires. Even in situations where properties are insured, one still has to account for the lag time between when the fire occurs and when the victim is back on his/her feet.
This is unnecessary burden for our firemen to bear when their primary mandate is to protect people’s lives and property. Their duties encompass far more than extinguishing cane and grass fires. They are also called to respond to accident scenes and other emergencies. It is disheartening to think of their time being wasted because of mindless acts. The time has come for there to be a meaningful national focus on minimising the number of fires.
The effects of fires on our economy are even more detrimental. With our main agricultural export product being sugar, and considering the substantial volume of imports that enter Barbados annually, the loss of a percentage of the possible sugar production negatively impacts the country’s balance of payments deficit. The country’s debt to income ratio is also affected and possibly its financial rating on the international market, with the effect of making the country less attractive to foreign investors.
The environmental implications are equally as serious. It is time to look out for each other and take action to rectify our situation immediately, or face the consequences of our inaction.