BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (SKNIS) — Chief Fire Officer Everette O’Garro has welcomed the newest state-of-the-art fire-fighting equipment to protect life and property in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The fire tender which has been described as the “Ultimate Urban Interface Vehicle” is custom designed and constructed for extreme-duty applications, superior pumping capability with high flow, high pressure and foam applications and as such can be used in both “traditional” or off road fire-fighting efforts. It boasts a 750 gallons water tank, 30 gallons foam storage tank and a 1000 gallons per minute fire pump making it ideal for a variety of fire-fighting situations.
Chief Fire Officer Everette O’Garro, accepted the vehicle from the government at a ceremony on Thursday (May 21). He said, “The Rosenbauer Timberwolf tender is a welcome addition to our present fleet of fire tenders. It is appropriately equipped with an abundance of fresh and upgraded features which definitely will enhance the response capabilities of the Fire and Rescue Services.” Chief O’Garro went on to say “the addition of the vehicle will help the department to keep pace with the rapid growth of development in St. Kitts and Nevis.”
The Chief said, the delivery of the vehicle is timely as the department continues to combat brush fires, and indicated that over the last three years, there has been a 28 percent increase in incidents of brush fires, and they account for almost 80 percent of their calls. The vehicle he said, is ideally suited for this challenge, due to the high above ground profile and four wheel drive capability. He ended by admonishing the Fire Service Officers to take care of this tender and all other equipment entrusted to them.
The new tender is assigned to the Basseterre Fire Station.