There is a new man at the helm of the Turks and Caicos Fire and Rescue Service and he has already begun to stamp his authority on the
William C. Jennings has been rewarded for his 20 plus years in the domestic fire service and having previously served as Deputy Chief Fire Officer was a clear cut choice to take over the post left vacant by former Fire Chief, Chris Gannon.
“I have worked mostly between Provo and Grand Turk. I'm not the first local Chief Fire Officer as I have heard many people saying; but I am the first local Chief Fire Officer to take over since the merger between the domestic fire and airport fire service.
“It really hasn't been that much of a change for me as I have been acting as deputy for a while and used to be in charge of operations, so the transition has been pretty easy for me plus I know my men very well and we all want to achieve the same goal.
That goal is pointed out extremely clear on the Fire Service's Mission statement which states “We aim to provide the TCI with excellent community valued service in prevention, education, professional service and emergency response. Great Service by Great People.”
The new Fire Chief told The SUN that he was pleasantly surprised the other day when he saw the large amount of applications by school leavers requesting to join the fire service.
“We have at least 90 persons who have applied to join the TCI Fire Service from all across the islands. They are mostly applying from the High Schools and the cadet programme; we will start taking a look at these applications from next month.
“This makes me feel proud and happy to know that so many local children want a career as not only fire fighters but are aware of the various opportunities for studying and pursuing other related careers, such as fire safety management and technical support.”
Jennings spoke of a need to have an established Fire Station in Provo and is optimistic that Government can soon finalise a site and have it constructed with an emergency line and all the amenities needs to make their job even more effective.
There are currently five fire trucks in Provo , four trucks in South Caicos , one in Middle Caicos, two trucks in Salt Cay, North Caicos has three fire trucks and five trucks are in Grand Turk.
Onward Hamilton is the senior divisional officer for North Caicos , Middle Caicos and Providenciales, while Mr. Adderley Selver is responsible for Salt Cay, Grand Turk and South Caicos .
“I'm still out there with my guys, fighting fires and training the guys, that will never change about me. I enjoy my work and can't be a ‘desk' fire officer so continue to look for me out there doing what I do best and that is providing service to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands .”
