 to this live edition of TV 30. I am Claudia Monlui, communications officer with the Department of Home Affairs and Gender Affairs. And with me here today for the launch of the Smoke Alarm Drive are resource persons that I describe as the face of risk reduction in St. Lucia. And I shall now call upon them to introduce themselves to our audience. Yes. My name is George Richterin, Acting Chief Fire Officer St. Lucia Fire Service. Mabias Francis, Assistant Division Officer, Fire Prevention in the St. Lucia Fire Service. Maria Meadah, Acting Director, Nemo. David Moyes, Social Transmission Officer for Rosalie in the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, and Empowerment. Welcome to you all. And I would also like to acknowledge our Facebook and YouTube viewers. We are here to launch the Smoke Alarm Drive. Can we reflect a little on Fire Prevention Week? Because this is the final activity of this week of observance, which is going to bring the curtain down on 2022. Yes, so Fire Prevention Week this year was held between the dates of October 9th to the 15th with the film Fire One Tweet, Plan Your Escape. The drive of the week was focused more on homes and fires within homes. In St. Lucia, we experienced from our fire statistics, we recognized that there is an average of 120 homes being devastated by fire annually. That's a lot of houses and a lot of persons affected. And so this particular week of October 9th to the 15th, we had a number of activities to sensitize persons of the threat of fire, how we can start and how they can make their homes safe from that threat of fire. So on the 9th of October, we started on the 9th with a motorcade that went around the island. So we started from Grosjele, and we drove around the island and back to castries, 10% in the various communities that fire won't wait, and they should plan their escape. They should have means of alluding them of the threat of fire, means of fighting the fire, and also to keep their homes in order that the fire won't spread within their homes. From the 10th to the 15th, we had open day at our fire stations. So every fire station was open to the public, so they could come in and interact with firefighters, learn of how they can be safe, the measures they can have in their homes to ensure their safety. As well, we welcomed the schools to visit our station and also interact. However, we also went to the schools. So the fire stations, the fire officers are the various stations. They went into most schools around the island to interact with the students. They had presentations, and I'm sure the students had a fun time with those experiences. As well, on the 14th, we had a grand fair at Constitution Park. There, we exhibited many fire devices, and the public came in and they interacted with firemen. They wore smoke alarms as well. There was something for everyone. So that fair was successful. We ended it, actually, with a show, a modeling show that was quite interesting. So look out on our YouTube page, a fire service YouTube page, to see what transpired with that show if you were not at Constitution Park. And today, we want to launch the final activity within that week, which is the smoke alarm drive. We want to install at least, well, our target is 1,000 smoke alarms throughout the island. In every community, we want to help the vulnerable persons in those communities prepare and to protect their homes from the ravage of fire. So hence, the reason for this smoke alarm drive. Thank you so much for that insightful description of your objectives here. And of course, as the gentleman at the helm, what would be your burning concerns as you assess the local landscape in regard to fires in St. Lucia, Mr. Victorine? Yes. And Mr. Mabuse, touch on it briefly. Historically, all our fire deaths, deaths from fires, has been in homes, residential homes. And very often, the more vulnerable persons, you know? So that is why this activity, that the week of observance for fire prevention, we focus specifically on homes and the more vulnerable persons at that. Because we realize that they are the greatest risks. And very often, these are the persons who have very little coverage in terms of insurance, coverage for their homes. And so we are targeting those persons to ensure that we reduce that risk and make the community safer from fires. And I'm sure, Ms. Mada, that when persons who are already vulnerable socially, perhaps residing in underserved communities and finance, of course, is a challenge. Mr. Moiz, who works with the Department of Equity, can also relate to that. It is even more heart-wrenching, we can see, to have to deal with their cases. What has your exposure and experiences been like in offering responses to persons who have been impacted by such tragedies? At NEMO, well, the NEMO system kicks in when you have a community response. And individual responses, when we do get those cases, we look at them on a case-by-case basis. We look at the vulnerability of the individual and the homes. And we try to assist as much as possible in whatever little way that we can. I know most persons come for household items which we don't have. On a case-by-case basis, we look at, you know, offering a mattress if we do have. And the whole NEMO system is not one that's supposed to look at individual cases. But because we understand the vulnerability and economic situation, we do try to extend the hand. Well, I think it is very important to note that NEMO's response is supposed to be a community-based response. And I think the understanding of most intuitions is that NEMO is there to dish out as much individual assistance as it can. But I think there is another agency that can pick up where NEMO lives off. And I think that is the Department of Equity and Mr. Moise, you can probably expand on this. And also to highlight, why is it that the vulnerable households are the ones who are most likely to suffer from home fires? All right. When we speak of vulnerable persons, we normally speak of persons who are experiencing poverty, persons who are households which are indigent. We speak of persons with disabilities. And these individuals normally experience challenges in terms of being able to, you know, afford things like fire lamps responding to such incidents. And so we think it's important through the efforts of the fire department what they're doing to give, for example, a deaf person, a blind individual, that opportunity to be heard from the neighbors to be able to attend to that emergency in the home. At the Ministry of Equity and Social Justice and Empowerment, what we do is any individual who has experienced some loss as a result of fire, they go into the Ministry in the form of the loss. The Ministry takes down information with regards to the structure, whether it's wood and concrete and the loss that has been experienced. And we try to get the fire extract from the fire department. That extract is taken by the welfare department and the letter is prepared on behalf of the victim and it can be taken to various agencies where they're sticking assistance, whether it be Red Cross, whether it be, you know, some business places, Electoral Department registry, so they can, you know, replace the lost items. So the Ministry is in a position to provide that level of assistance. Also, individuals who have experienced that loss, there is a grant that they can qualify for to assist them in immediate response. So immediate response, it's not something that you will get continuously. So one time grant, which will help you replace some of your things immediately or lost items immediately. Okay, are there any waivers that can be facilitated for persons who've probably lost all of their ID, information, ID cards, et cetera, as well as probably being very low on cash at the moment? Well, yes, they do get assistance. First of all, with regard to the report, the extract, there is a cost to the extract, so that is already wavered for them through the Ministry. In terms of getting the ID cards and birth certificates replaced, that too, the cost can be wavered. Even with some of the businesses, I mean, if you wanna get through the donations, you could get some replacements like your beds, probably some appliances, that's through the businesses that are willing to. There's no video on this. Okay, and Mr. Mabis, we're going to draw our focus on the devices before us right now. Some of us are seeing them for the first time, so could you give us some insight as to what they're all about, how we can use them, where we can purchase them? Yes, so this is a smoke alarm, all right? It's quite a simple device, but it does a great job. The job is quite impressive in terms of letting you off the threat of fire. We have in our local scene where there is smoke, there is fire, and so this device will let you know early that there is something that may be onto it, something that can cause harm in your house. So again, you may have certain processes going on, like cooking that may produce some smoke. So please don't put it, don't place it near, don't install it near your cooker, but a distance away, 10, 15 feet away, or in your dining room, or in your bedroom, or the corridors that lead to your bedroom is a good place to locate them. Weekly, it has a test button, you just depress the button and it will give you an alarm to indicate that it's functional, all right? But this item is very effective in alerting you of the threat of fire. Smoking underneath it may also set it off. So do not create any smoke around it that can trigger it unnecessarily. We don't want it to be a nuisance to you, but the whole sounding of this alarm is to alert you of the threat of fire. So if it's you smoking around it, then you know there's no fire, per se. But if you're sleeping and this device has gone off, please awake and check it out. If you are a neighbor and you hear this device going off in someone's home, call the fire department, call the individual, and ask what's going on, that you can hear the smoke alarm, and there may be a fire. So this is what we want, the message we want to put out to sandwich it. Do not play a deaf ear to smoke alarms, because it is sensing that there's possibly smoke which may lead to a fire. And if you respond to it in a very quick manner, you may just be able to save a home, save a business place, save someone's property. It's not simple enough to be used. And of course I would imagine that when you are going into the various communities, there will be demonstrations and more information imparted to the residents who will be the recipients of the smoke alarms. Mr. Moise, can you tell us the criteria to decide on who will be the recipients of those? Well, for me, I'm working with the grocery disaster preparedness committee and identifying vulnerable persons who will be receiving these alarms. And we're looking at vulnerable households where you have persons who are disabled, as I said, or persons who really cannot move quickly, like the elderly. So these are some of the criteria that we're looking at right now. If the elderly is at home and most times a family member goes to work, having that smoke alarm will alert the neighbor of an emergency. So the criteria will definitely be someone who's considered to be vulnerable and the ministry will do use a tool to determine persons who are vulnerable. We do have a list of vulnerable persons. The DDCs do have a list as well. So one, you must be a vulnerable person. And we're also looking at the fact that whether you're elderly, whether you have that disability, or whether you're unable to move as quickly as possible if something were to happen. So these are the individuals we're hoping to qualify. That sounds good. And of course, 1,000, so you are hoping to touch every community in this campaign. Can you speak to the corporate support which you have been able to tap into to make this initiative a possibility? Yes. I would like openly to thank Lucilleck as being one of our great sponsors. Lucilleck has made over 150 of those smoke alarms available to be distributed. So let me openly thank Lucilleck for making this a reality. As well, Bank of St. Lucia has partnered with us in making smoke alarms available. So again, we want to thank them in a very big way. As well, we have many other persons out there and business places as well that have indicated that they're willing to partner with us. Although we have not seen it as a reality, but we take that promise to be something that will be materializing in the future. As well, let me see that prior to installing those alarms, we plan to have town hall meetings and we'll be seeking the assistance of the DDCs as well to have those town hall meetings in every community to sensitize persons of the smoke alarms. So even though you may not be getting one, you will get certainly get enough information to prompt you to get one. But as well, as you've just mentioned, should you hear the alarm going in your neighbor's house that you will call for assistance, you will get the attention, you may even go in to assist that elderly person that different able person to make an exit. This we want to really spread around the island. We need to be our neighbor's keeper. Further to this, we have a provable scene that says, let's come out to PDF, who's this hour, right? So we hope that everyone will take note of this and prepare themselves for the eventuality. Fire is not a respect of person, it can happen to anyone. Although it affects those who have run over more frequently, but it can affect everyone. And of course, in our discussions earlier, you did mention that Fire Chief made a very important point. The cost for those devices begins at around $50. And of course, when you compare that to the investment that your home would have accrued to, it's far outweighs. Yes, so this initiative targeting the more vulnerable persons is a stat. Now the more vulnerable persons may not be able to afford those smoke alarms as readily as the general public. So we are starting with them and with the sensitization. Our hope is that those who can afford having received the information or having seen how it works for the more vulnerable person that will prompt them to make the sacrifice the commitment to have smoke alarms in their homes to protect them as well. Because as Mr. Mabiu said, fire has no respect for persons. It's not just the more vulnerable persons, it affects all of us. And for business or industrial occupancies, there are legislation that mandates them to have fire safety provisions. But such legislation does not exist for residential areas or private homes. So that is why we are targeting them and embark on that sensitization to encourage them to take the necessary steps to protect their homes from fires. Exactly, I did find it rather interesting when Officer Francis indicated that the fire service does not have legal authorization to conduct any inspections at the houses of persons. And of course, we are hoping that laws will be revised, reviewed to allow this sort of positive and constructive access to ensure persons are doing the right thing. And Ms. Mada, how encouraged are you when you participate in and you see initiatives of that nature unfolding? How encouraged is Nemo to see and partake in such initiatives? I think we were actually happy when we received the call from Mabiu's hair. This is something unprecedented. And it would go a long way because we have received, you know, numerous persons coming in who have suffered from damages to, from the fires. And if they have had, if they had, you know, smoke detectors, some of these fires would have been avoided. And we're hoping that we can assist fire and work with social transformation in the communities to be able to, you know, promote the smoke detectors, fire safety. And this, it begins with the, on the community level. And our district disaster committees were very enthusiastic, you know, when the call came in to them, for them to be able to identify persons to receive the smoke alarm. So we would be working along with fire, as usual. We're always working with fire. But on this, this community level to ensure that we look at a holistic approach to most times we come and people figure out, it is just, we're talking about hurricane and storms and tsunami. But fire, fire is a real, a real hazard. And it is something that most of us are familiar with. So I want to commend the fire service on this initiative and pledge our support at NEMO to work with them. If memory serves me well, there was a fire at Bishop's Gap where the one neighbor's house got impacted and the other because, and then even a vehicle that was parked on the road got impacted. And that is because generally Mr. Muiz, we are clustered, our housing layout is pretty much close to each other. Can you speak to the level of housing that you notice in the more vulnerable areas and perhaps just how quickly it can be reduced to ashes, so to speak? Well, yes, in many of our communities, you do find that kind of nucleated settlement where houses are built probably one on top of the other. And most times with persons experiencing poverty in these areas, they make use of fires, whether it be for cooking, whether it be for light at home. So you have a lot of cool pots being used, you have a lot of candles being used. And so these often are threats to the individual. So if one household were to catch on fire as a result of probably a fallen candle or fire being blown off from a cool pot, then you can imagine how quickly many other houses could be impacted. And in most of these houses, it's not just one individual. You have many individuals living. So you have children being affected, you have the family being affected on the whole, you have persons losing personal items, school items. And so it's a serious thing when you have so many houses in such close proximity and being impacted by fire. So I believe that this definitely could assist and can help minimize the problem. And the very important point was raised, Mr. Francis, on planned development and the perennial challenges that the fire service conference to try to serve those areas and accessibility. Can you give us some insight to that? Because I'm sure the officers go on calls and they come back and they prepare a report. And I'm sure that at the level of meetings, management meetings chief, those concerns would be discussed and probably escalated to other government partners to see what level of sensitization can be carried out to reduce the risk of those associated with unplanned developments. Yes, we do have many unplanned developments around the island. And so education is one of the best tools we can use to help those persons. For whatever reason that they find themselves in those situations, we as a department recognize that it exists. And so we do as much as we can for education. And this program, we hope, we'll find its way to the living rooms and they will learn that they can help themselves. The little that they have acquired over the years can be protected through purchasing those devices. It comes at a cost, but once compared to what you can lose, everything that you have acquired over the years, it's worth it, all right? So we want to let everyone know, even those who are economically deprived, that this tool can help save what you have acquired. And without it, there's a possibility you can lose everything. Now apart from material loss, we recognize also that there is trauma, you know? Psychological trauma. And I have never experienced a fire but I have seen many persons who have lost. And beyond what they have lost is the tears of the trauma that they experienced from those fires. So you are there, you may not have seen, you may not have had a fire, but I'm sure you know many persons, neighbors, friends, family members who have had a fire. The trauma from it is one of those things we hope we can spare person. Things can always be regained, but life lost and trauma experience, you may never be able to recover from it. So please get a smoke alarm and if you receive one, utilize it properly, have it tested weekly so you can make sure it works for the eventuality of threat of fire. Yes, back to the old adage that prevention is better than cure. And fire chief, we are very near you very near the peak of the Christmas season. I'm sure you would like to share with our listeners, our audience some very useful reminders so that we can all have a very safe Christmas. Yes, and we've been discussing prevention and sensitization, education, and that really is the key to preventing fires. And the best way to stop a fire is to prevent it from happening. And with those devices, that is a step. But I also remember about it was more than 20 years ago. There was an incident in the home where two children died in a fire and they were playing with matches. When the fire started, they went and hid under the bed. They both got burned. And I remember in a conversation with a school principal, she was of the opinion that the system failed children because they didn't know what to do, how to behave in that case. And from there, the fire department took on the responsibility of going through the schools, educating the children. And from then, we've never had such an incident again. So you can see education, sensitization is very important. And every season, you know, the holiday season, the fire service goes on a drive to issue fire safety tips, to send solutions, to have them understand how they can better protect themselves, protect their homes, how to use appliances, how to do the cooking because there are increased activities and there are all kinds of social activities. So we embark on a fire safety drive issuing safety tips through the media, through leaflets to persons in the communities to help them protect themselves. And this season will be no different. So look out for those safety tips, safety messages and public service announcements on how you can better protect yourself, your home, your families for the season. Thank you so much. As we wind down, Mr. Francis, not your final words, but your comments for now. There will be more opportunities, of course, for us to speak to the public on the smoke alarm drive, but your comments for now, as we wind down this discussion, which marks the launch, just the launch of this initiative. Yes. Okay, so solutions, smoke alarms, save lives. And so in the coming days, look out for those community, those town hall meetings. We will be going around to inform you of the dates. They will be aired. So please come out, join us to learn more about smoke alarms, fire safety, and also hurricane preparedness, flood preparedness. We won't only be speaking about smoke alarms, but we respond to all forms of emergencies and disasters. So we want you to be ready for the eventuality of any kind of disaster, but especially fire, because fire is an all season disaster and all season hazard. That's so very true. And I think Miss Meadah can lend her voice to that as well. Miss Meadah, as we let you go to attend to, you can say an opposite element, which hit St. Lucia recently, which is the flash floods, your comments, your observations as we wind down this launch. I want to echo Mr. Francis's sentiments about the fire alarms. It helps us keep safe. Again, like I said, it is another form of hazard, not just floods and hurricanes, but fires are real. And as the theme says, fires won't wait. It won't wait for you to grab something. It won't wait for you to say, well, I'm not ready yet and so on. They are real, attend the town hall meetings. The district disaster committees will be there to support the drive the project. I think it's a very, very good one. You know, there are safety tips, like Mr. Francis said, that we can take. We at Nemo look at a holistic approach to disasters and that's a comprehensive approach. We look at fire, hurricanes, earthquakes and so on. But today we look under fire. Candles we notice, especially during the Christmas season, is one where the fire department gets a lot of calls. And it is something that we don't promote during the Nemo system, within the Nemo system. So as much as possible, you know, use battery operated candles. I know they sell them around the place. So for lighting or whatever aesthetics that we want to use during the Christmas season. Battery operated, there's solar powered items that we can use as alternatives. And our community guide, you're going to be on the ground. We did not touch on any Creole today, but I'm sure that as we go, right Mr. Francis, as we go throughout the different communities, island wide, the message will be imparted in Creole as well. Yes, it will. I would do my best to ensure that it is. Look, I encourage everyone to go out of the room and see the fire department, to come to the commission. We are going to have a meeting with the CIF, during the Christmas season, to serve the devices that we need, so that we can protect them and protect them as well. So we are going to have a meeting with the CIF to come to the commission. That's the best I can do. Thank you Mr. Moise, that was a wonderful attempt. And Mr. Francis, finally, those will be available at various hardware stores, right? Yes, they are available at most of our hardware stores. And if they are not right now, we hope that the proprietors are hearing us and they will make them available in bulk. Hopefully, solutions will go out there and purchase all of them to ensure that their homes are safe. And they can return and patronize that store, right? So if we are all our homes are fine, we have that extra money, we can really utilize it in all the places during the whole season. And I'm just thinking that this could also be a wonderful Christmas gift as well, giving the gift of safety and protection to each other, all part of the collective responsibility that we highlighted in our discussion head this morning. And of course, now we bring the curtains down on a live edition of TV 30 here at the studios of the GIS NTN, where we marked the launch of the Smoke Alarm Drive. We are so grateful for your time. Thank you for listening.