By: Chaïra Flanders
Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 14, 2020 (ZIZ News): Chief Fire Officer (CFO) of the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services (SKNFRS), Everette O’Garro, is reminding the general public that acts such as setting fires and burning trash without apporval from the fire department are illegal.
The Fire Chief was at the time delivering a presentation at the May 12 NEOC daily briefing.
“We are presently at that time of the year which we consider to be the fire season. As such, we have begun to experience a high rate of fires. I want to take this opportunity to seriously warn the general public with special attention to farmers and persons who are getting into the dangerous habit of burning garbage and the indiscriminate setting of fires is a crime and if caught in the act you will be certainly prosecuted,” he said.
He used the opportunity to explain how fires that seem non-threatening can quickly become dangerous and severely affect human lives.
“Please bear in mind that a small seemingly non-threatening fire that you set, can get out of control in a matter of seconds, spread and do dangerous damage to the property of others. “These fires are also a source of great discomfort to adults and children who suffer from respiratory illnesses such as asthma.”
At the end of his presentation he revealed that so far the Fire and Rescue Services responded to a total of 245 fires in 2020 which he says is a 37% decrease when compared to a total of 367 fires during the same period in 2019.