By Robert A. Emmanuel
Well-respected and recently retired Chief Fire Officer Elvis Weaver spoke of his immense pride after being included on the King’s New Year Honours list.
On January 1, 2023, King Charles III, on the advice of Governor General Sir Rodney Williams announced the awardees, which included Weaver as the recipient of The King’s Fire Service Medal for Distinguished Service.
During an interview on Observer AM yesterday, Weaver disclosed how he initially learned about the award.
“One of my former officers sent it to me via WhatsApp and I was wondering if this was a joke … then I checked my email and I saw the letter from the Governor General, so I knew it was real then,” he said.
Weaver entered the fire service, not through purposeful action but simply from a dislike of regular police patrolling.
“I don’t know what attracted me to the fire service because when I went into the fire department, I didn’t know anybody … I met a lot of guys older than me, but they took me under their wing,” he said.
Over his time as Fire Chief, Weaver has fought for better working conditions for his colleagues. And, being tasked with the oversight for sourcing new fire engineslast year delayed his initial retirement date in March.
Weaver, who retired in December, reflected on his time at the helm in which he spoke about the need for the public to better appreciate the fire service.
He reiterated his belief that “one of the things I would have loved to see in my time was the separation of the fire department from the police force. I have travelled a few places … and I recognised how wonderful it is for them just to be into firefighting and not in the police force”.
This would not be the first time Weaver has made that suggestion, and he presented papers to the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda since at least 2019.
Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin in June 2022 claimed that the Parliament would have passed the Police Act 2022 which contained such separation; however, to date, this has not occurred.
Weaver recalled being promoted to the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police with responsibility for the Fire Department remained the highlight of his decades-long career.
He said that new recruits need to learn to love the service, and that fire officers need to “let the public respect you and you respect them”.
The other awardees on the King’s New Year Honours List for 2023 were Erna-Mae Brathwaite for services to Youth and Community Development (Ordinary Member of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order); Karen-Mae Hill for services to Youth and Community Development (Ordinary Officer of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order); and Dr Errol Cort for services to National Development (Ordinary Commander of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order).