The conference got under way Monday at GFS headquarters in Georgetown with Home Affairs Minister, Mr. Ronald Gajraj noting that increasingly, the main role of the Fire Service has virtually gone through a metamorphosis with the emphasis now on preventing fires rather than fighting fires.

This shift is more than likely to "receive wide and strong support throughout the service and the community since it means high standards of professionalism and skills training for our firefighters," he said.

Gajraj also told the Officers he was certain that many of them and the ranks under their command would "prefer to pursue such endeavours that would emphasise fire prevention, for example, quietly teaching a child in a classroom the danger of matches; or checking that the classroom is safe for the child to be, in the first place."

"Thus by emphasising fire prevention rather than fire fighting, you are in effect fostering greater fire protection for the nation," the Home Affairs Minister said.

Against this background, Gajraj called on the GFS Officers for their fullest participation in the deliberations at the annual conference as they reviewed their achievements over the past year and seek to map out their programme for the year ahead.

He said that his ministry and the Government will continue to support the service in its efforts to have ranks trained both locally and overseas - particularly in Trinidad and Tobago.

He said the GFS will get further support to upgrade its fire fighting capabilities with the provision of three firefighting appliances, two water/foam tenders and a water tender later this year.

"We must continue to lend meaningful support to the community of Linden and efforts must be made to establish a Fire Service presence on the Essequibo Coast at Anna Regina within the near future," he added.

"Strategically, we must ensure intensified fire prevention through community support and involvement, training and technologically advanced fire prevention techniques and methods," Gajraj told the gathering at the opening.

The Fire Service must progressively acquire adequate human and material resources in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its ranks through sustained training, he stated.

He stressed that the empahsis must necessarily be on "more proactive fire prevention and fire fighting".

"The greatest strength of the Fire Service is that it knows what it is about in the pursuit of its vision to keep people safe from fire and to save them in an emergency," the Home Affairs Minister asserted.

"In the years head, I would like to see a Fire Service which is professional, much better equipped, properly staffed and highly skilled. This would enable us to translate good intentions into prompt actions on the ground, resulting in substantial benefits to the community, and by extension, the economy of this country," Gajraj said.

"Indeed there are, currently, many weaknesses within the Guyana Fire Service and I wish to commend you (the Chief Fire Officer and his management team) on the several ways in which you have challenged those weaknesses and have improved your management skills as you establish new relationships with other fire services within the region."

"Perhaps all of you might have enlisted as members of the Fire Service with the principal objective being to fight fires, but over the years that you have served as members of this august body and the experiences you would have acquired, for example, you might have seen a child who was burned or a person who had a fiery death, you certainly would preferably be engaged in preventing fires in the first place, rather than be engaged in fighting fires", the minister added.

"Every fire disaster preparedness activity should have as its ultimate objective, the protection of human life and property and consequently, the avoidance of suffering, social disruption (and) economic losses," Gajraj said.

At the minister's suggestion, the gathering observed a minute's silence for the firemen who died fighting fires after the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11 last year.

"As officers of a noble service, I urge you to always have a sense of responsibility (and) the GFS is charged with the responsibility of dealing with the manmade disaster of fire," Gajraj said.

He urged the conference to look seriously at the areas of training and education. According to him, training must be emphasised at all levels of the service and must be extended to communities, particularly those where mobile transportation (fire engines) cannot easily be accessed.

He said it is necessary to ensure that all people have an awareness of the dangers posed by fire.

"Indeed, since memories are apt to fade, and I must say they appear to fade very quickly in our country, the awareness must be kept alive and up-to-date among those whose experience of fires is not very recent," he said.

Public information and education must therefore be an essential component of fire disaster preparedness, the Home Affairs Minister said.