Government Seeks Funds for National Fire Service Headquarters

For years, Belize’s National Fire Service has operated without a dedicated national headquarters. It is a gap that has long raised concerns about coordination, training, maintenance capacity and even morale within the department. Successive administrations have acknowledged the need for a centralized base but despite plans and promises, the project has yet to move beyond the drawing board. With land already identified along Lake Independence Boulevard near the Eleanor Hall Building, government says the vision remains alive but funding continues to be the major hurdle. Minister of Disaster Risk Management Henry Charles Usher says while the headquarters is a priority under Plan Belize, government is now turning to international partners to help get it built.

 

Henry Charles Usher, Minister, Disaster Risk Management

“We don’t have the funds to do it as yet. We have the land that has been set aside right next to the area of Eleanor Hall Building. We’re looking for funding. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to partner with our US Embassy, the US Embassy in Belize to be able to get that fire station built. The National Fire Headquarters is an important part of making sure that our National Fire Service has the resources, has the home really. They need a home for their training, for their mechanical unit, et cetera, to be able to work on the firetrucks and so on. So it is an important part of Plan Belize and we are going to get it done, but no, it’s not in this particular budget. And believe me, when we do get the funding and we know we’re gonna build it, you guys are going to be the first to know that.” 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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