Guyana has bolstered its capacity to combat forest and bush fires by acquiring helicopter helibuckets. President Dr. Irfaan Ali revealed this on Wednesday at a Guyana Fire Service event in Georgetown.
“We have now acquired the helibuckets for the chopper with the Guyana Defence Force. We have already done training to fight bushfires and forest fires with the buckets,” Presidet Ali said while adding it’s a first for the Caribbean region.
These buckets, which can dip water directly from rivers, mark a significant step in enhancing the country’s firefighting capabilities.
“We are also going to conduct training in case we have major fires within the city or other urban settings, so they are equipped now and they are fully trained,” the head of state noted.
President Ali recalled the prolonged dry season last year when Guyana sought assistance from Brazil to combat forest fires. He revealed it was Brazil’s capability that inspired the integration of helibuckets into Guyana’s system.
“In the very dry season last year we had to have the help of Brazil to fight some of the forest fires and they had this capability and we have now adopted that capability in our system.”
The head of state explained that this initiative is part of a broader integration of assets within Guyana’s joint services. The Guyana Police Force is also developing an air wing to enhance its operational capacity, while the Guyana Defence Force will complete a hangar deployment area for its assets at Ogle Airport.
Meanwhile, British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller revealed that the Fire Service responded to some 1, 285 forest fires last year between January and April.
“Fires are a reality whether we are talking about economic growth and all the new buildings or whether we are talking about wildfires. I think it is excellent that investments are being made in the Fire Service,” Miller revealed.
