Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Noel Arscott, is this afternoon, expressing regret at the loss suffered by several families in the wake of a fire which razed a multi-storey dwelling and adjoining buildings on the corner of Beeston and Regent Streets in downtown Kingston, yesterday.

Minister Arscott who is now in receipt of an interim report from the Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, and upon perusal of same, is also using the opportunity to commend the firefighting team for their speedy response and professional conduct in managing and bringing the fire under control.

“I applaud these men and women who have been operating under very difficult and trying circumstances, yet, continue to give selflessly to protect the lives and properties of Jamaicans. The coordinated efforts of our firefighters in managing the recent spate of fires over the last couple of days is testimony to this resolve”, Minister Arscott added.

The Report which was culled from the station log chronicled the chain of events including the response time and the operational procedures by the fire fighters on the scene. The Commissioner of the JFB, Laurie Williams, noted that the crew employed sufficient command, control and ongoing risk assessment to deal with situation on location.

The log indicated that the Brigade received its first call at 11:30a.m, and were on the scene at 11:39a.m. It is in light of this initial review of the operations that Minister Arscott is commending the crew in response to the negative comments directed at the firefighters indicating that they were tardy and ill-prepared in responding to the fire.