The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) responded to 9,973 genuine calls over the period January to September this year, says Kevin Haughton, deputy commissioner of fire and rescue operations.

Speaking to the media following the staging of an Open Day at the Montego Bay Fire Station in St. James recently, Haughton said this represented a 59 per cent increase compared to 2022, when they responded to 6,277 calls.

“In terms of structural fires, we would’ve responded to a total of 905, compared to last year when we responded to 831,” he stated.

Haughton added that in terms of malicious calls during the same period, there was a 17.2 per cent increase over the 937 calls during the similar period last year.

The deputy commissioner said there has been a decrease in the number of JFB ambulance runs.

“We made a total of 1,572 ambulance runs, which was a decrease in comparison to the previous year, when we did 3,247,” Haughton noted.

He said that there was a 1.3 per cent decrease in the number of motor vehicle accidents that the brigade responded to this year, in comparison to last year.

Haughton pointed out that the JFB also responded to several bush fires this year, most of which took place in St Catherine.

“We had a total of 1,185 in St. Catherine, followed by Kingston and St. Andrew, where we got a total of 704, then St. Ann, which saw 631 bush fires,” Haughton informed.

In terms of building inspections, he noted that for the period, some 7,099 were carried out.

Haughton said there was a 63 per cent increase in the number of lectures done by the JFB, and some 1,053 fire drills were led by the brigade.

Some 335 fire hydrants were repaired during the period, and 1,177 fire hydrants were maintained.

In attendance at the Open Day were Custos of St. James, Bishop Conrad Pitkin and deputy mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon.

The Open Day formed part of Fire and Life Safety Awareness Week, which was observed from October 22 to 28, under the theme ‘Fire Safety in a Digital Society’.