But that is only part of a programme to make the GFS more effective, according to Acting Fire Chief Carlyle Washington.

After the arrival of the firefighting motor vehicles, a representative of ANGLOCO visited Guyana last October and conducted sessions, during which GFS ranks were trained how to man the fleet now distributed to Central, West Ruimveldt and Campbellville fire stations, all in Georgetown.

Mr. Washington said the training allowed his men to become familiar with the equipment on the tenders, which are also equipped with a generator to power floodlights and ‘jaws of life’ that are useful for rescuing trapped or injured persons from buildings and vehicles.

Using the 35-foot ladder on each tender, firemen can easily climb a three-storey edifice to combat an outbreak.

In that process, protective gears, from a fireman’s helmet to boots, are essential.

Washington stressed that training plays a vital role in their work and, cognisant of it, they have acquired three acres of land for the erection of a modern school at Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

Landscaping is underway there and meantime, ranks are being trained at Alberttown Fire Station and officers have completed extensive courses overseas, including nine in Trinidad and Tobago, one in St Lucia and two in St John’s, Virgin Islands.

Two types of hoses are used in firefighting, one for small blazes and the larger for bigger conflagrations and oil fires but both are effective, Washington pointed out.

He explained that, when and if necessary, firefighters are capable of rendering basic medical first aid to victims before transporting the more seriously injured to hospital.

Foam for extinguishing flames contains a concentrated chemical compound of ox blood, protein-based additives and some amount of liquorice and saponine.

Those elements are mixed with water under high pressure to produce the frothy substance that is very effective in combating petroleum fires, because it floats on the burning substance and clings to the surface while suffocating the oxygen.

Due to the dangerous nature of their occupation, firemen sometimes work long shift hours but are on call 24 hours a day.

Earlier this year, GFS officials met petrol dealers to discuss safety procedures and emergency operations, after failed attempts by bandits to torch two gas stations.

One outcome of the meeting was a training scheme for fuel pump attendants and areas to which they were exposed are the chemistry of combustion, characteristics of burning petroleum products and handling fire extinguishers.

President of the Petrol Dealers Association, Mr. Steve Chung, who attended the course as well, said he is confident that the participants will benefit.

Last year, too, under the theme ‘Let’s make fire safety a priority’, GFS staged a week of seminars and such educational sessions, on fire prevention and safety, in 257 schools countrywide.

Washington said staffing has increased recently, from 368 to 400 and that would greatly help to meet the demand, with the $8M Anna Regina station, now under construction in Essequibo, soon to be operational.

He said Ms Desiree Dos Santos-Moore created history by becoming the first senior female fire officer. She holds the rank of Acting Station Officer and is attached to Alberttown Fire Station.

Washington said, among the GFS plans for this year, are to improve its firefighting capability by acquiring two new ‘Land Rover’ appliances, more protective gears for personnel and establish linkages with renowned academic institutions to learn modern techniques and get additional knowledge about fire protection and engineering.

GFS was established as part of the Police Force but was separated from the latter on October 12, 1957. Since then stations have been located at Alberttown, West Ruimveldt and Campbellville, in the city; Ogle, East Coast Demerara; Timehri, East Bank Demerara; Leonora, West Coast Demerara and Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice.