The Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Shondell Hodge, and the Airport Manager, Mr. Jabari Harrigan, are both happy that Anguilla is distinguishing itself in the Caribbean with modern services at the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport and that, sooner or later, there will also be an expanded runway.
Those modern services include two brand new high-performance and costly Rosenbauer Panther Fire Trucks from Austria, and Minnesota respectively, now on the island, and a new domestic fire tender due to arrive shortly from Michigan. Provided by the United Kingdom Government, at a combined price of between 2.3 million and 2.5 million US dollars, the fire-fighting equipment has added significantly to the standard of Anguilla’s fire and rescue services and the current and future operational level of the airport.
The Anguillian newspaper asked Mr. Hodge about matters related to the firefighting equipment. The question and answer conversation was as follows:
What would you say these appliances mean to the Anguilla Fire and Rescue Services?
With these acquisitions, we are in a better position to satisfy the minimum requirements set out in the Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements, Part 140 Rescue and Firefighting response objective. In terms of the future development of the airport, the Rosenbauer appliances combined can provide coverage for category 8 aircraft. On wheels, we will have available a minimum of 22,000 litres of water, 820 gallons of foam and 725 kg of dry powder.
What more are you looking forward to?
I am waiting for the demolishing of the old Fire Station and the construction of an access road from the new Fire Hall to the runway.
How would you describe the morale of your firefighting and rescue services personnel, now that you possess this new and versatile equipment?
I can say at this particular stage that the morale of the men and women is at all time high. They are blessed with some of the latest technology available, and no longer have to use unreliable and dilapidated equipment. We have progressed from being a department in need to one of the most resourceful in the Caribbean.
Will further training be a goal of your department?
Most definitely. Training and development is an area which we will be paying attention to shortly. We have a lot of firefighters and officers who are very adept. But we would like to enhance their skills and create invaluable opportunities for them. Some officers have already enrolled in online programmes as part of their personal development.
What are some of those online programmes?
• Report writing and documentation
• Hazardous material awareness
• Basic Emergency Services (EMS)
• Concepts for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) Events
• WMD/Terrorism Awareness for Emergency Responders
• Structural Collapse Specialist Training
• Task Force Leadership.
Tell us about the overseas training programme involving persons actually leaving Anguilla to pursue courses.
That training will be in the following areas:
• Aviation Rescue and Firefighting
• Fire Prevention, Protection and Evacuation
• Fire Investigation
• Hazardous Material
• Maritime Search and Rescue
• Road Traffic Collision
• Urban Search and Rescue
• Incident Command.
The final question is: With improved equipment and a highly-trained staff, how are you looking forward to an expanded runway?
That is something that we embrace. We welcome any opportunity to collaborate with the plans for the airport, and hopefully the expansion of the runway will be a huge success.
Meanwhile the Airport Manager, Mr. Jabari Harrigan, who was asked for his comments, replied:
We are looking forward to moving into the new building…As you know, the other Fire Station we are currently using is not in the best shape, but the officers at the Fire Department are doing a great job with what they have available. We are operating out of a temporary Air Traffic Control Tower which makes it a bit difficult. It works but we are also looking forward to moving into the new tower which is above this combined services building.
We are continuing to make improvements here at the airport. In fact, we have just got a friction tester and are working with a gentleman to test the capabilities of the runway in terms of braking for aircraft landing and so on. What we are doing is improving the safety of the airport. We want to ensure that we have a very safe airport because that is very important when it comes to aviation – creating a safe and secure airport that everyone would like to arrive at and depart from.
Do you see all of this as a forerunner to an expanded runway?
Certainly. We are not only doing things for what we currently have in place, but also for the future. Rather than just looking in front of your nose, as they would say, we are looking beyond that.
