At least one in every 15 firemen is an Indo-Guyanese who is more likely to leave the job because the meagre pay is not commensurate with the rigorous work schedule and the risks involved, Fire Chief, Carlyle Washington, has said.

"We know what is happening in Guyana... we are not being paid the salaries to cope with the expenses but we have to accept it," Washington said on Tuesday, in testimony before the Disciplined Forces Commission.

Salaries are so bad, he said, that many firemen have been forced to take up part-time jobs in order to supplement their income.

According to the figures he provided, salaries currently range from $33,000 to $198,000, which, having regard to the risks they face is not enough for firemen.

Primary training takes place in Georgetown, and Washington explained that this is a problem for those recruits from remote areas, many of whom do not want to leave their homes. The environment in Georgetown is also a challenge and he cited one case where an Indo-Guyanese recruit from New Amsterdam was brought to Georgetown for training and was robbed. His parents told him to leave the job.

However, the fire service is trying to bridge the gap in ethnicity and one avenue that has been explored is a more decentralised recruitment drive. The recruitment campaign was conducted in Anna Regina recently, where a new fire station has been set up. In addition to decentralised recruitment, the fire service has also adopted a policy of sending these recruits back to their areas to serve.