Fire Chief sent on leave days after disastrous Brickdam fire; unsure if he will return to post
Fire Chief Kamaladeen Edoo has been sent on leave, with no indication whether he will return to the post, days after a disastrous fire ravaged the Brickdam Police station and destroyed over 80 per cent of the complex.
Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry Mae Toussaint Jr. Thomas both confirmed that Edoo will be proceeding on leave. Neither of them however, could state the duration of Edoo’s leave.
Meanwhile, in an invited comment on Tuesday, Edoo told the News Room that his vacation leave takes effect from Tuesday, but he too was unsure how long it is expected to last.
When asked if this was related to the criticisms levelled against him and the fire service for their response to the recent inferno at the Brickdam Police Station, Eddo only answered: “I wouldn’t be able to say.”
He was also asked if he would be returning to his post when this leave ends, but he said he did not know.
On Sunday morning, a day after the fire, President Dr. Irfaan Ali visited the scene along with Minister Benn and other government officials.
Then, he lamented that hundreds of millions of dollars were spent in the last year to boost the fire service’s response, yet the fire service was unable to respond to a fire in its own “backyard.”
“The response by the fire service to the Brickdam fire on Saturday had nothing to do with assets and resources, but the unpreparedness by the service,” President Ali explained.
“Based on the type of calls I received…they were unable to take action because of their state of readiness,” he said.
