Fire chief: Code a must
By Mike King | Sun, September 05, 2010 - 1:26 AM
STRESSING that the time has come for the establishment of a building code, Chief Fire Officer Wilfred Marshall says that if the burning Campus Trendz clothing store had an alternative exit, all six women trapped there would still be alive.
The six perished in the blaze at the one-door store in Tudor Street on Friday night.
“It is unacceptable to have stores with just one exit,” Marshall said. “In this day and age, we should not have businesses that don’t have an alternative exit. We must have a building code. There is a draft but it hasn’t gone to Parliament.
“If there was an alternative exit, those girls would have been alive today. A building code must be established sooner rather than later,” he said. “The time has come for building codes to be law.”
Marshall told the SUNDAY SUN it was frightening to imagine how many lives would have been lost had the fire occurred at Christmas time.
Member of Parliament for The City Patrick Todd echoed Marshall’s sentiments.
“Public safety and the safety of the employees of these stores must be paramount and we must stop at nothing to ensure that these best practices are rigorously adhered to and implemented.”
Friday’s fire, ignited by two robbers, who tossed what may have been a molotov cocktail into the store, claimed the lives of Tiffany Harding, Kellisha Olliviere, Shanna Griffith, Pearl Cornelius, Kelly-Ann Welch and Nikita Belgrave.
“The fire started in the area by the entrance, so they retreated to the back of the building,” the fire chief said. “They couldn’t get out because there is no exit at the back.
“We had to burst two holes at the back that is how we made an entrance and found the bodies. We couldn’t enter from the front because of the ferocity of the heat.”
Marshall, 56, said it was one of the most gruesome fires he had seen in his 36 years of firefighting.
“In terms of firefighting, not one of the worst, but probably so in terms of loss of life. One of the challenges we had was the design of the building. It was heavily compartmentalised, therefore we couldn’t get access to the rear of the building.
“We had to push the heat back through the only open area we had. So the same entrance that we were working through, the fire was making its exit . . . .”
Marshall said the Barbados Fire Service got the call to the blaze on Friday at 7:04 p.m.
Four water tenders, the rescue tender and a hydraulic ladder truck responded.
The Fire Service returned yesterday morning and completed mopping up operations by afternoon.
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All commercial buildings should have Sprinkler Systems and properly marked,clearly defined exits.
A lot of Barbadian Building Industry professionals were trained in North America an know how to deal with these issues.
Nuh lotta long talk. Do something now and make Barbados safer.
Sincere condolences to the families of those young women who lost their lives.
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Comment LinkLess that a week ago I commented on an article and I end by stating that Barbados do not put Safety and Security as an important
issue and I said espicially in the work place.Gas stations don`t have that automatic foam system in case of a fire.I can`t say if my comment was printed but I`m sure the person at the Nation saw it.There is a need for building inspectors and maybe these six people lives would have been saved.I used to sit by a friend of mine store front
and would say to him that area where this horrible incident happened need some lighting, it`s an ideal area for muggings.There is also a lot of areas need debushing and the prisoners should be put to do that.Its
a hazzard to motorist and pedestrians especially in corners.
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Comment Linkcontinued..
And here it comes: What about bigger and even large businesses? All businesses should be in charge by law to keep their isles clean as they are ESCAPE ROUTES. In some of them you can’t even walk the isles while trying to do normal business as a customer. They are clogged with goods!
I don’t want to think about a fire situation in one of those businesses… Escape routes? NO WAY (OUT)! A few of those businesses could take down half of the City if they caught fire. The amount of combustible goods in these businesses is seriously life threatening.
I hope someone was reading this comment and will forward it to the persons in charge - like legislation, fire service, police or whom ever may be concerned in this VERY SERIOUS matter.
By the way, fire security is not just protecting one selves against brutal criminals! Fire always have a cause. BE SAFE DON’T BE SORRY!
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Comment LinkFire exits, extinguishers,fire blankets, CCTV and escape routes should be standard in all commercial premises! Put safety before profit!
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Comment LinkThe Fire Brigade should/must have the necessary powers to order the closure of any building to which the public has access that fails to meet fire safety standards.
Lobby the Government and Health and Safety Executive, Sir.
Bajans are behind you!
Jerry - diehard bajan
Sutton.
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Comment LinkA second means of egress is a must for any building whether residential or commercial, and those wrought iron bars that are so popular are also very dangerous. If criminals want to get in nothing will stop them, they can be very innovative. Put safety first.
I just lost a daughter in a pedestrian accident so i feel the parents pain, you have my codolences.
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Comment LinkThe Barbados Fire Service does not have much say, nor power in this little island. Accepting USED bunker gear that arrived as filthy as if they were originally headed for the dump. It needs equipment and vehicles. The Fire Service needs power, cause right now it just a shell going through the motions. But there is and old saying, “for anything to be done in barbados, people must DIE.” Lets see how many things get put in place in a hurry now. Either people must die or it must be an election year.
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