Oct. 15, 2001 – Thanks to a memorandum of agreement between the V.I. Fire Services and the V.I. Port Authority, Fire Services firefighters will be able to fight marine fires.
Fire Services Director Ian E. Williams Sr. said Monday his firefighters will use the Port Authority's pilot boat and its captain. The boat is tied up along the Charlotte Amalie waterfront.
Williams said the firefighters will transport their equipment to the boat in order to fight a fire.
He said the agreement will not cost either agency any money. It started
Sept. 18, but the news was made public only last week.
While the agreement between the Port Authority and Fire Services will help with fires in Charlotte Amalie Harbor as well as elsewhere around the island's waters, it will also provide a way to get equipment to Water Island in case of a fire.
Williams said that Water Island does not have a fire truck. One that was slated for use there several years ago only had a 250-gallon capacity, which was insufficient.
"We are still looking for a truck," he said.
Williams said plans to fight marine fires in St. Croix are in the works. He also expects to buy three more fire trucks to upgrade equipment. St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John will each get a new truck.
However, that is the tip of what Fire Services needs. Williams said all the department's pumpers are old and need to be replaced.
"They don't provide safety requirements for fire fighters," he said.
Williams also said that a federal Housing and Urban Development grant to the tune of $49,980 recently arrived. He said that some of that money will go to fix up a 22-foot boat donated by the V.I. National Park to the Fire Services' St. John branch.
Brian Chapman, deputy fire chief in St. John, said that he expects the boat to have its full complement of equipment and be in the water in December.
