UPP calls for investigation into purchase of unsuitable fire tender and condemns indifference to public safety
The United Progressive Party condemns the Gaston Browne Administration’s continued indifference to public safety, most recently demonstrated by its purchase of an overpriced and “unsuitable” fire tender.
The Prime Minister’s decision to assign – or condemn – the just-acquired firetruck to the Cooks Landfill is a betrayal of trust for two reasons:
First, his Administration vowed to acquire a working fire tender two weeks after the devastating fire on St. George Street in The Point. The unit arrived six weeks later, making a lie of the Prime Minister’s promise.
Second, by his own admission, residents’ lives, homes and businesses remain at risk, as the aged and unsuitable truck would be useless in an emergency situation.
This revelation is a slap in the face of the recent fire victims who are still struggling to rebuild their lives, with scant assistance from the Browne Administration.
Further, the truck’s assignment to the Landfill – rather than to the St. John’s Fire Station, as was officially announced – says that the security of that facility is more important than the safety of the people.
Accordingly, the UPP calls for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding this grave disappointment and waste of the tax-payers’ money, and for an explanation to be given by the Minister with responsibility for the Fire Department’s operations.