Now that we have taller buildings along Seven Mile Beach are the firefighters trained and able to fight a fire or aid someone on the top floor should such a horror happen? Does Cayman even have a truck with a ladder that can reach the top floors?
Auntie’s answer: The Cayman Islands Fire Service has specifically been trained to fight fires on upper floors of buildings in Cayman, explained an official with the unit. Last year firefighters took part in a full-scale training exercise for dealing with a high-rise emergency (see Fire Service holds high-rise training).
In addition, the ladder truck can reach as high as 100 feet, which would be about 10 storeys.
The official also noted that taller structures in Cayman have to meet certain standards, saying, “It should be remembered that high-rise buildings are built to strict building and fire codes which includes the provision of fire detection and suppression systems and adequate means of escape from the building.”
The public are just learning that the fire service has been operating their own manually-relayed dispatch system, separate from 9-1-1. So until that rolls over to the standardized P25 technology, expect delayed response time, and an escalation of any fire threat.
Check the fire service respond times to any other emergency centers 911 etc, and u will see there have the best repond times and its been like that from the early 80’s. Cayman has some of the best Fire fighters in the world, if u dont think so, light ur home and call them. Not until they save u or one of ur family members, that they will earn any respect from u.
This remain to be seen.