Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
Thursday, March 7, saw the commissioning of another new fire tender to meet the needs of the Fire Department at the Clayton J. Lloyd Airport.
The new appliance, a Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 HRET, was manufactured in the United States of America. It joins the service of one other brand new Rosenbauer Panther fire tender, which was manufactured in Austria and commissioned last month.
Leading firefighter, Mr. Omari Bourne, welcomed the gathering of invited guests, and called on the Right Reverend Leroy Errol Brooks to offer the invocation and to bless the new machine. There upon, the Bishop prayed that all who use the appliance would do so with due care and attention, and that they would be divinely protected in carrying out their duties. At the end of his prayer, he sprinkled “holy water” on the new Panther as a symbolic gesture of the Holy Spirit’s presence and protection.
In commenting on the new addition to the fire-fighting arsenal, His Excellency Gov. Tim Foy, in part, praised the diligence of the Hon. Curtis Richardson, Minister of Infrastructure, Communication and Utilities. He said: “Congratulations Minister. You are doing a great job…As the Minister of this Department, you have made us appreciate why the use of the UK grant money on these appliances is so essential to the future of our tourism industry.”
Turning his attention to the Anguilla Fire and Rescue Service, His Excellency commended the work of Fire Chief, Shondell Hodge, and his team: “I want to say thank you to the hardworking staff of the Anguilla Fire and Rescue Service who have worked for many years with inadequate equipment — and they have done sterling work. They put their lives on the line whenever they are called out, and I pay tribute to them and to their approach.”
Minister Curtis Richardson, in speaking about his vision for the firefighting equipment, remarked: “I have watched past Ministers of Government ‘toil all night’ only to come up empty-handed when it came to securing new fire trucks for our firefighting service. When I became Minister of Infrastructure, I thought about how much labour I need to put into this job…but then I decided to seek the fruit of my word and not of my labour… So I started to make certain declarations by faith, not sure of where the money would come from. Well, today, faith can be seen.
“I am extremely happy that the fire truck that I call ‘Love’, which was commissioned not long ago, is now joined by this truck which I call ‘Peace’. And I would be even more elated when the Governor and his office deliver ‘Joy’. As the Governor correctly said, he could not take Anguilla forward through the 21st century, in terms of aviation, with old used trucks that were substandard. I am therefore happy for the full support of the Governor, and the British Government, in being willing to take Anguilla forward in such a strong fashion.”
The Minister then focused on the disposition of the Governor himself, and praised him for his diligence and service: “I commend this Governor. He is a Governor who has made a difference” (spontaneous applause). The Minister continued: “We have had many fantastic Governors in Anguilla, but from the time I came into contact with this Governor, I discerned that he was the Governor who would make the difference in taking Anguilla forward.”
Finally, Minister Richardson charged those who would be responsible for operating the Panther to exercise utmost diligence and to be cautious enough to operate the new fire tenders with a high standard of care.
Firefighter Junie Fleming then gave an overview of the Panther’s capabilities: “This Rosenbauer Panther 6X6 HRET is the first of its kind in the Caribbean region. This is one of the most successful and efficient aircraft rescue and fire fighting vehicles worldwide. Its multiple award winning design, and powerful performance, make it the most modern firefighting appliance of our time — with new innovative features, maximum power, safety and functionality.
“This state-of-the-art appliance has a seating capacity for six. It carries 3,170 gallons of water. It also carries 400 gallons of foam and 500 pounds of dry chemicals. These capacities are well over the recommendations for the category at which we currently operate.
“The Rosenbauer Panther’s driving dynamics pride a speed of zero to 80km in under 28 seconds, powered by its 750 horsepower Volvo engine. Its lowered center of gravity enables it to maneuver in just about every situation, whether on paved roads or off-road terrain. The maximum safety of this vehicle, and its occupants, is one of the primary objectives behind the new Panther.”
Maintenance of the New Panthers will be provided by Indocom Ltd of Trinidad, which was represented by Mr. Shyam Ramchandani. He stated: “Rosenbauer is a company which is almost 150 years old. Our company, Indocom Ltd., has delivered trucks to most of the islands in the Caribbean. We have a qualified staff which is ready to provide maintenance on these trucks as well as training for maintenance personnel. It is our company’s policy to train service engineers as far as they want to go.”
At the end of the ceremony, the vote of thanks was given by Fire Sub-Officer, Mrs. Janet Morancie. This was followed by an exhibition of the Panther’s fire extinguishing capabilities performed by Fire Sub-Officers Elridge Richardson, Donavan Bryan and Craig Emmanuel.
Thereafter, The Anguillian spoke with Fire Chief Shondell Hodge, and inquired whether the arrival of the two new fire tenders would provide an acceptable standard of operations at the airport. He responded: “These are very satisfying times to be a firefighter. Our service delivery capabilities have been significantly enhanced with these two new appliances — as well as some other critical pieces of equipment. So yes, we are able to operate at an acceptable standard.”
Mr. Hodge gave an overview of the upgraded conditions which the new equipment had brought to the Fire Department: “The Rosenbauer Panther provides a new dynamic to the Anguilla Fire and Rescue Service. Both of these Rosenbauer Panthers combined provides us with up to category 8 coverage. The two Panthers, along with the older Ashcrash 50,000, which we call Big Red, can qualify us for category 10 coverage which is the highest standard available.”
Mr. Hodge said that moving forward, later in 2019 and 2020, he would like to see all officers of the Anguilla Fire and Rescue Service undertake a regimented course of training.
