Firefighters’ union head on fatal Arima fire: Morris-Julian, children could have been saved

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FIRE Service Association (FSA) president Keone Guy says had the Arima Fire Station had an additional appliance, or if there was another station in Arima, the lives of D'Abadie/O'Meara MP Lisa Morris-Julian and two of her children – Jesiah, six, and Xianne, 25 – could have been saved.

He praised fire officers who responded to the fire at Morris-Julian's home at Farfan Street, Arima on December 16 for doing all they could to prevent any further loss of life or damage to property.

He also repeated the FSA's concern about critical deficiencies in the Fire Service, warning that if this situation is not addressed immediately more lives will be lost.

"The TTFS (TT Fire Service) is on the brink of collapse with many stations lacking suitable trucks and essential personal protective equipment."

Guy urged government to allocate the necessary funds to equip the Fire Service adequately "if for no other reason but to ensure the unfortunate and tragic death of Minister Lisa Morris-Julian could serve as her greatest and final act of service to the citizens she so dearly admired and loved."

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In a release issued on December 16, the Fire Service said when it received the emergency call about the fire at Morris-Julian's home, "the nearest fire station in Arima was engaged in an industrial fire, and the Tunapuna Fire Station was simultaneously responding to another house fire."

No details were provided about either incident.

Newsday went to an industrial district in Arima on December 17 but was unable to verify whether a fire had taken place.

The Fire Service said, "Both crews arrived at the Farfan Street house fire as quickly as possible and worked diligently to extinguish the fire."

On their arrival, the Fire Service said they requested additional water supply as there was a shortage in the area.

In a WhatsApp comment sent to Newsday on December 17, Guy praised the fire officers who responded to the fire at Morris-Julian's home.

He said, "Unfortunately it was not soon enough to save the deceased minister and her two children, something that we find extremely regrettable."

Despite facing challenges such as a shortage of equipment, Guy continued, fire officers were still able to bring the fire under control relatively quickly.

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But he added, "Had there been an additional appliance in Arima Fire Station, had there been another station located in the Arima region, probably we would have been singing a different song this morning and the minister may have been saved."

Guy repeated that the association has publicly expressed concern about the shortage of appliances at several fire stations.

He said it was grossly insufficient for Arima to have one fire station with a single appliance, given its size, population density and the number of residential and commercial structures there.

Guy confirmed reports from officers that a fire happened at a structure at Manuel Congo at 5.30 am on December 16. Fire officers took 30 minutes to extinguish that fire, which is reported to have taken place in an annex at the Carpenters' warehouse compound.

"What is absolutely unfortunate is that the reports of the dwelling fire on Farfan Street came in ten minutes after the Manuel Congo (fire)."

With the Arima fire station's lone appliance already engaged, Guy said the call was transferred to the Tunapuna fire station.

"Those officers responded from (the Tunapuna) station and arrived at the incident, at the location, approximately 11 or 12 minutes after they received the fire call (about Farfan Street)."

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Guy said the officers from the Tunapuna station were supported by the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation "who transported an additional supply of water on the scene."

In a statement on December 17, Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales rejected a comment in the Fire Service's statement about a lack of water in the Arima area at the time of the fire at Morris-Julian's home.

Guy described Gonzales's statement as unfortunate.

"While the minister's claim can be true or at least part of the claim that they boosted water in the area, I am not certain that would have been adequate to assist the officers with structural firefighting.

"Anyone would understand that the demand needed or the pressure needed for dwelling use or for domestic use would be much less than what those officers would expect at the hydrants."

Once Arima fire officers had dealt with the fire at Manuel Congo, they joined their Tunapuna colleagues on site at Farfan Street and helped them to bring that fire under control.

Guy elaborated further in a statement subsequently issued by the FSA.

The tenders assigned to the Arima and Tunapuna fire stations were registered in 2009 and 2006 respectively.

"The average age of these vehicles can be reasonably estimated to be at least 18 years, which makes these vehicles costly to maintain and susceptible to frequent breakdowns."

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The association repeated there is a shortage of fire tenders across the country.

"In June, the FSA second division indicated that six out of 11 fire stations in the Northern Division lacked appliances, severely compromising our ability to respond to emergencies."

Belmont, Woodbrook, Santa Cruz, Morvant and Penal fire stations have no appliances. Guy said the Princes Town and Lady Hailes (San Fernando) fire stations are currently closed.

"Despite repeated appeals for increased funding to address these shortages, the government's budgetary allocations have been insufficient."

He repeated the Fire Service's budget for vehicles and equipment had been reduced by half from fiscal 2025 from $11.5 million-$4 million.

The reduction had been significantly more in the previous fiscal year.

"Though the draft estimates for the 2023-2024 period shows an allocation of $11.5 million this was later revised to $1 million for the period."

A first-response tender costs approximately $4.5 million.

"It means that with an immediate investment of just over $100 million, which represents less than 0.2 per cent of this country's annual expenditure, the colleagues of the beloved minister can ensure similar circumstances do not repeat themselves."

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Guy claimed National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds has previously said there are no outstanding massive requests from the Fire Service for equipment and resources.

He said the reality on the ground starkly contradicts Hinds's statement.

"We cannot afford to wait for another tragedy to prompt action. The safety of our citizens and the effectiveness of our fire service depend on immediate and substantial investment in resources and infrastructure."

In light of the reported shortages, he said, "As we continue to mourn with the national community, the TTFS remains committed to strengthening our emergency response systems and community fire safety education programmes."

In a post on his Facebook page, National Transformation Alliance (NTA) member Paul-Daniel Nahous said fire officers should not be blamed for Morris-Julian's death.

"Grief is not an exemption from having to account, it is a grace period.

"What happened regarding the tragedy with MP Lisa Morris-Julian, which is a recurring story in TT having entirely inadequate fire response, is the fault of multiple high office holders, politically and administratively."

A fire service (like a police service), Nahous continued, is not mandated to respond "as soon as they can," but  immediately.

"Not being capable of doing so and being under-equipped on arrival means that there is an either a manpower problem, a logistics problem, or a management problems, or some combination of them all."

The Prime Minister, Hinds and Gonzales were unavailable for comment on the FSA's statement.