Commish urges greater support for firefighters

When tragedy strikes, it is often the men and women of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) who are first on the scene--whether it's a raging blaze, a mangled car crash, or a child swept away by floodwaters.

But while many Jamaicans appreciate the courage and commitment of firefighters, few understand the emotional toll the job can take.

Stewart Beckford, commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, says the work goes far beyond hoses and helmets.

"The truth is that any incident that we attend to where persons may have suffered serious injuries or may be killed is always one that, if not managed properly, can be problematic for our first responders," Beckford told THE WEEKEND STAR.

"Being exposed to these traumatic events on a regular basis does take a toll on their mental state."

He referenced a particularly harrowing incident in January which three children perished in a house fire in St Ann.

"That was traumatic for the team members who responded to that incident," he said. "On a daily basis, all members are being impacted in a negative way."

To help address the psychological strain, the JFB has strengthened its mental health support systems in recent years.

"We have taken steps over the last three, four years to bolster our capacity and capability to render that level of assistance that they may require from a mental perspective," Beckford explained.

"We have an in-house chaplain, but that's just one person to roughly 2,300 members of staff. That is inadequate, to say the least."

Recognising this shortfall, the JFB has turned to external partners for help.

"We work with a number of personnel with the expertise and experience to treat with PTSD and those trauma-related disorders," he said.

"We also lean on the Adventists. They have a good network of counsellors right across the country, and they have made those available to us whenever we need them."

That relationship is now being formalised.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Beckford is eager to dismantle outdated public perceptions of the JFB.

"We've come a long way from the days when the public saw the fire brigade as just a bunch of big-belly men playing dominoes and drinking beer," he declared.

"Today, the department has evolved. We now have the resources to carry out a wide range of rescue tasks, and our firefighters are more educated, more professional, and more career-focused than ever before. Many of them hold bachelor's, master's, and even higher degrees."

Firefighting, Beckford emphasised, is only one part of a much larger emergency response mission.

"Whatever conceivable emergency that you can think of, it is a firefighter or the fire brigade that will respond to that. If somebody falls into a trench, it's the firefighter who will go and rescue that person. If there's a chemical spill, it's the fire brigade that will respond. Incidents of flooding, drowning, we're the ones."

Responding to a persistent public misconception, Beckford also set the record straight on water supply during emergencies.

"There's still this lingering perception that we turn up to fires without water in our trucks and I want to strongly refute that. No fire unit responds to a call without a fully loaded tank."

However, he acknowledged that tanks don't last long in major fires.

"What people often don't understand is that depending on the intensity of the fire, that water can be exhausted in minutes because of the pressure we're pumping at."

He is urging the public to protect community hydrants.

"Don't damage them or dump debris around them. If we can't access a hydrant in an emergency, that delay can affect the outcome of a response," the commissioner said.

He even recalled a bizarre situation where someone had built a fish pond around a hydrant, making it unusable.

Beckford is also appealing to Jamaicans to give firefighters space to work during emergencies, especially in the age of viral videos and social media scrutiny.

"There is definitely more pressure on our firefighters now, especially with the visibility that comes from social media. At every scene, people are recording, and our team has to be constantly aware of every move they make," he said.

"While the public has a right to record, we ask that they also give us the space to do our jobs effectively."