Minister Harish Monorath of Justice and Security wants to discuss the staffing and material problems at Korps Brandweer Suriname (KBS; Suriname Fire Service) with the Kabinet van de President (Office of the President).
The minister stated on Tuesday, October 27, that extra overtime, the shortage of fire engines and firefighters’ personal equipment, among other things, need to be addressed. One reason is the continuing fire at the Ornamibo landfill site.
Monorath says the fire service has insufficient personnel and equipment to adequately deal with all fire reports. According to him, the major fire at Ornamibo is placing additional pressure on the available capacity.
The minister therefore wants to discuss how the staff shortage can be addressed through extra overtime. He also wants to draw attention to the fire service’s multi-year policy plan for the period from 2021 through 2031.
Fire service must make choices when deployed
Monorath stresses that the reluctance of the fire service to respond to the recurring fires at Ornamibo does not stem from unwillingness on the part of personnel.
“It is not that they do not want to respond. They want to respond, but you have to make a choice,” the minister said in an interview with ABC Suriname.
According to him, the corps must take into account the limited availability of fire engines. When a vehicle is sent to Ornamibo from another fire station, this may affect the availability of fire service assistance in other areas.
He cited Lelydorp as an example. When a vehicle from that station is deployed elsewhere, a problem may arise, according to him, if a fire occurs in Lelydorp at the same time.
Monorath supports fire service’s position
The minister says he fully supports the fire service’s position that the current situation at Ornamibo cannot continue.
He criticises the repeated fires at the landfill site and states that, according to him, the site has now caught fire six times.
Monorath points to people searching for copper at the site. He believes insufficient action is being taken to prevent fires from repeatedly occurring. However, it has not yet been established who is responsible for the recent fire.
The minister wonders what security measures are being taken at the landfill site. He says he does not know whether security personnel are present.
Fire service now deployed to fight Ornamibo fire
The new fire at the landfill site was reported on Monday, October 26. Initially, it was announced that the fire service would not respond, but support was later promised after all.
On Tuesday, it was reported that firefighters, together with employees of Openbaar Groen en Afvalbeheer (Public Green Spaces and Waste Management), were fighting the fire. Water cannons are being deployed and firefighting water is being pumped from the Parakreek.
Monorath stresses that the fire service’s available capacity is not unlimited and that the corps must also remain deployable for other emergencies.
According to the minister, firefighters deserve both sufficient equipment and good personal gear in order to carry out their work. He therefore wants to bring these bottlenecks to the attention of the Kabinet van de President.
