By: Precious Mills
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Wednesday 23rd December 2021) — Acting Fire Chief Garfield Hodge pointed to the importance of the new location of the Sandy Point Fire Station as it relates to emergency response time and growing demands in the district, while speaking at the opening ceremony for the Sandy Point National Security & Judicial Complex held on Tuesday 21st December 2021 at Bouncing Hill in Sandy Point.
Hodge described the facility as ‘state of the art’ and “all important investment,” expressing gratitude to the Ministry of National Security and federal government. Architect at the Public Works Department Jolin Toshi Davis gave a project overview, noting the building is a two-storey concrete structure with a total area of 21,668 square feet, designed as a multi-purpose complex to house police, fire and rescue, customs and magistrate court.
“The Sandy Point Fire Station is centrally located in the fire district which spans from Frank Lands east and Parsons Ground west. Responding from Sandy Point gives the responding fire unit the best chance of achieving the best possible response time — in firefighting, one second less or more can spell the difference between life and death or the salvation and destruction of property,” Hodge stated. He noted that the Sandy Point Fire District is the second busiest in the Federation, averaging 135 calls annually. Sandy Point itself hosts commercial and industrial development including Harowe Servo manufacturing company, Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, the recently-opened Ramada Hotel, and thousands of residences — all of which the fire unit is responsible for protecting.