TORTOLA — Seven British Virgin Islands Fire and Rescue officers have been deployed to assist with recovery efforts in Dominica for a period of seven days.
The contingent is comprised of officers Marcus Malone, Gaston Walters, Joseph Graham, Elgin Johnson, Rico Penn, Nathan McLean and Travon Gumbs.
The officers left on Monday, September 7th and were accompanied by Dr. Nicholas Redhead, pathologist at the New Peebles Hospital and will be accommodated at the Dominica Fire and Rescue Services Department. Chief Fire Officer Zebalon Mc Clean told VI Consortium that CASSI, the Association of Caribbean Fire Chiefs, they are the ones who issued the clarion call for assistance to Dominica.
“They’ve been hit pretty hard by Erica and all their resources have been strained, so our fire officers have gone there to lend assistance to that Fire department. You can well imagine those long hours those guys have been putting in, it can be frustrating as well as tiring. We have to help each other when the time comes”, the Fire Chief noted. Mc Clean said the BVI Fire Officers would be in Dominica for one-week.
“They have taken their gear, some ration and they gonna be down there and completely immersed in all the different activities.
They not gonna be there as any observers, nor is it a training mission. It is a mission to lend our skills and efforts as well as us having genuine empathy for our Caribbean neighbours to make sure we can help them to get through this crisis they are dealing with.
Other officers deployed to Dominica include health personnel from the BVI Nurses Association and staff from the Department of Disaster Management (DDM).
Premier Dr. Orlando Smith has expressed pleasure in the Virgin Islands Fire and Rescue Department for answering the call and joining the relief support.
Tags: british virgin islands, dominica relief
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