Fire officers at the Portsmouth fire station continue to sleep outside of the station building tonight in protest against what they say are unsuitable working conditions.
Dominica News Online has learned that some firemen from the Roseau fire station who have been sent to man the Portsmouth station, have now joined their protesting colleagues.
The fire officers have decided to continue their protest action despite condemnation of their behaviour as “unreasonable and unnecessary” by Fire Chief Josiah Dupuis.
Thomas Letang, the General Secretary of the Dominica Public Service Union which represents the fire officers, said they have been working under “extremely poor conditions.” for “a couple years now”.
“The question of rat infestation, the issue of poor ventilation, toilets not working and a number of issues,” Letang stated as reasons for the protest in an interview with state-owned DBS.
He said the protest started sometime last week and because of the recent storm was discontinued but has since resumed.
“We have since resumed the protest and the guys are not sleeping in the building they are not entering the building but they report to work. That is the form of the protest,” he said.
Chief Dupuis has criticized the course of action taken by the officers and said it was not reasonable.
“We do not think that it is necessary particularly at this point to have embarked on that particular course of action and as a matter of fact I think that it is not a reasonable position at all considering the information that have been disseminated to the officers with regard to the process,” he argued.
But Letang said that the fire officers have had enough, pointing out that every time they write to the authorities they are told that “the matter is being addressed” and some discussion has already been held with the owners of a new building that was identified but that’s as far as it went.
“So the officers have decided that enough is enough and they are protesting.”
However Dupuis stated that they are aware of the situation and all responsible are “actively engaged in trying to get this matter resolved.”
“It’s a matter that is in process, it’s a matter that we are actively engaged in to get result and i am very certain that shortly this matter will be addressed,” he added.
The Fire Chief also admitted that the protest will cause some disruption. However he said they make do with staff and in some cases redirect officers to different locations.
In the case of the Portsmouth fire station, DNO has been informed that the redirected fire officers have decided to stand in solidarity with their protesting colleagues by joining them in sleeping outside.
the same way ian douglas the hon. parl rep. for portsmouth stood up for the george town residents, he must now stand up for the fire officers.
well stay and sleep outside nah lol…. not me that going and get fwaydi, and sick na….. kill allu self SMART
I am sleeping outside cause my toilet is not working .
It’s Skerrit`s fault.
Rats in my place of work I think Skerrit caused that too.
Termites in the hospital call the government.
Whats Up with our people.Get up our lazy behinds Now, and stop blaming government for things we can do for ourselves.
Firefighters should be handy people anyway. If there is no fire fix the toilet and use the fire hose to wash the station.Enough is Enough already.
some people can close their eyes and work and live in untidy places others can’t . I am in solidarity with you, fire officers. Be steadfast!
I think the officer should be careful being outside at nights, as the rats can bite when you are outside too. and many other things can happen too….. go home to sleep or go on full protest but I am not sure if that is foolproof.
Brothers I support you with all my heart. What of the other fire men and women, when are they going to join you to make things happen? I know that conditions are not much better in many other fire stations. Come on guys, lets join our brothers and get this revolved we need our fire men on duty , safe and happy..
Citizen August 7, 2014
@ Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque, I agree.
“I do not believe the Marigot Hospital was closed because of TERMITES.
I believe that Hospital was closed to MAKE A POINT.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CLEAN UP TERMITES? WHERE DID THE TERMITES COME FROM? WHY WAS TERMITES ALLOWED TO GET TO THE STAGE OF CLOSURE? One has to be “TERMITELY” BLIND to NOT NOTICE what is going.”
I suppose you know something that I am not privy to; and the closure could be intended to make a political statement, nevertheless, such ridiculous statement would not have severed any useful purpose, it would not be in the interest of the Labor Party to victimize practically people from the Carib Reserve, to Marigot, Wesley, Woodford Hill, and to a certain extent the people of Calibishe.
Take into consideration, the Marigot Hospital is more than an hundred years old. As long as the structure is of wood, and the foundation is in contact of the earthy, the building becomes vulnerable to the activities of termites. Providing they get started, the result is eating the building down to the ground, that cannot be avoided since termites originates in the soil, in the earth, the dirt.
That is why in places such as the United States, we often see building, larger buildings of wooden structures are covered at certain times, what the owners are doing is simply going through the process of fumigation, that helps to prolong, the inevitable. However, it is not unusual to see a building standing one day and the next it has fallen to the ground due to termites eating through all the lumber leaving empty shells which are unable to support the weight of the building.
Such old buildings cannot last forever, nevertheless, termites do make themselves visible, they grow wings and fly in the vicinity where they are, it is impossible for the Marigot Hospital to become infested with termites, without someone noticing the insects. If Timothy, the and his associate in the ministry of health was doing what they are paid to do, such events they could have controlled the situation to a great extent. Now I tend to agree with you that a political message was conveyed specifically to the people of the villages I mentioned, that message however, is to the detriment of the Labor Party.
Petter, and the Labor Party did; indeed conveyed a strong message to the people of Wesley when they allowed the Secondary School, to go into a dilapidated state, broken doors, and windows, and children attending class standing, and sitting in pools of water.
That sort of behavior is quite norm to the present government!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
hats of to those fire officers who has decided that enough is enough,at least they have more nuts than police officers.while the leaders of this country enjoying all kinds of allowances,trips overseas,and nuff BON TEMPS,the servants of the country have to live in conditions totally health threatening.mr.dupuis you should be ashamed of yourself as head of the fire department to call this unreasonable,when you know certainly well the kind of living conditions that exist at the portmouth fire station,but i guess you must continue to polish skeritt shoes for favors,so you rather betray your men and stand in alliance with government,shame,shame,shame.we the public are in total support with the fire officers,stay strong brothers.
Oh my i hope and pray god keep watch over my Dominica.From what am reading and hearing, Hospital closing, firehouse not working, garbage truck breaking down, Farm Road are in bad shape,vat is the main income of the country etc. This tells me Dominica is in bad shape.While the PM is living like a king.Also giving out money like crazy.Mr.PM i hope you will not take the tax payer money and pay for this Dominican living overseas to come and vote u in.Take this money and please fix Dominica.If you so care.
So Sad. When I sit back and analyze how our public servants are being treated it baffles the hell out of me. Police officer lives are at risk every day they go to work, prison officers, and fire fighter just the same, and the income they receive is shameful, but we expect them to go to work be happy, and support their families on s pay.just like the citizens that are working for peanuts and busting their a so unfair. A lot of these establishments are doing well enough and can afford to pay their staff a descent wage, especially those that have been around for ages and sure does not have a mortgage. There should be a mandatory minimum wage in place for citizens, if they put in the work hourly they should get payed accordingly. Its shameful and the government needs to get with the program and start treating our citizens right. WE ARE “NOT IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY” stop treating them like they are especially our public servants. Then you wonder why they turn around and steal from others who don’t have much either, which is wrong. I am ashamed of this.
We The Authorities have com to the conclusion that there are far more pressing issues than providing adequate fire-station sleeping quarters.
After considerable deliberation with the Union, we realise that their proposed action of protest “sleeping outside” is not such a bad experience here in Dominica, and the firemen are technically still “at work”.
In the meantime, and contrary to popular belief, we continue to strive to do better with our limited resources.
If Skeritt does not listen, the next move should be a hunger strike.
good job fire men we can see u still perform ur duties as
officers election around d bend if not now den no time again so keep presing
tell letang the employees at ross university need to look after also
Zero raise for police officers and teachers. CLosure of Marigot hospital, ridiculing of professionals in parliament, Firemen on protest, Public works on protest. Who else, what’s next. Prime Minister Skerrit. You have overstayed, time to go. You are rich, you do not need to stay in office any longer, please go enjoy your wealth in peace. Give us back our country. You go to go Now. Time is up, Pack up and stop playing games with the election date. You have failed miserably but you have benefited tremendously, take what you have and Go.
And may God have mercy on you, which I doubt he will.
Vote them OUT!!!!!!!!!CHANGE MUST COME
Pa dar labor ca twavaille wat ca baille bal,formir ca Spread joy, civil servants see three eggs 000 and bishop seeing chi ching,crazy T over eating, toilet spreading
The Fire Chief said that the action of the firemen is unreasonable; then why doesn’t he exchange places with the Fire Officers?
This is not a recent happening, it has been going on for a while.
Firemen, I support you!
I ha’ve suggestions for living accommodations in the area
There is the Moroco hotel — that ain’t finish and the electrical wiring failed miserably.
The Villas-poops plans in the last 3 budgets to facilitate Villa sale
What about one of the many houses of minista Peep Peep
Peep but minista peep peep is one selfish SOG
I would suggest minista tu ju mol epir Su but he still breast feeding at mommy. He doh have anything and living at mum and dad.
Since the Ayatola living for free on tax payers what about the property on Harbour Lane in Porssie but the Ayatola has always been about himself.
What about The pink buildings
Hahahahaha
I strongly agree
With all these issues firemen living in squalor, civil servants offered 0 0 0,public works employees don’t get paid, Marigot Hospital shut down due to ants, government giving bishop free money, crazy t free money- boy had this been the Charles Saverin era some ministers would have had to run out of Dominica. as for those with millions in offshore accounts nobody would know there whereabouts.
I tend to stay away from reporting like this but HMMMM, see am an even minded person I hate people who try to separate people with their own agenda, cause either these people don’t care or they just wicked cause they should know the reason why this is being prolonged for so long is that they cant find a temp place to house the fire station to start rebuilding the station, I have no idea what would not let the toilets work firemen I know are very handy people is no way I would say the restroom is not working and I don’t find away to fix it that’s one. Two, how long now since we had a fire in Portsmouth for the fire service to be that busy that you cant take a old broom nock down some of the termites housing? don’t get me wrong you work for somebody and they have to make sure your work place is in proper sanitary condition but at the same time you do your shift with no calls at all, you know what gets me there are people in place to make sure this thing are working but hey the buck stops at one man feet, when you call when out for not doing their job they label you a dictator.
Shld be them
Heee hor heeeee hor. Geese up BOWIK mang . Brewwwwwww hor Heee hor heeee hor.
You are and idiot, why don’t you get a broom and go knock it down for them. They should worry about everyone’s safety but theirs is at risk? please
If I were you I would repay your parents all the money they spent on you, sending you to school. Obviously you ate your school fees.
u really stupid whoever you are!
So Dr. Pascal took some heat for his accurate assessment of the health care system in Dominica and now our firemen are living in a rat-infested building. They need to be careful. This Prime Minister is nothing to play with.
I am waiting for Tim Tim’s comments, since he is the Minister of Health. Rats pose a serious safety risk to the health and well being of our fire officers, Mr. Tim Tim.
I know right. It’s like they forgot about LEPTOSPIROSIS and focus on Chikingunya.
Two years ago, Mr. Richard Allport died as a result of Leptospirosis all you forget??
They shouldn’t just sleep outside, they should not go to work at all
L’heure pou changement adah pays sa-la.
Wouldn’t want this to be my mate, brother, cousin or friend. Sad the kind of humbling experiences that so many of our men are going through just to win a bread for their homes.
in agreement. Of course I do listen to the news, but whoever you are u need to respect a person’s opinion. No matter what politics is included in everything in Dominica. Do u agree with me?
Fed up August 7, 2014
“The government has a part to play in this, no doubt, but many times we fail to see that the people of the country play a larger part in its destruction. A lot of people work for their selfish reasons.”
The statement above is the epitome of stupidity!
A Fire Station is an essential part of the infrastructure of any country, that is a building occupied by professional fire-fighters around the clock; three hundred sixty-five days per year. As such there should be an schedule maintenance period. The same should have applied to the Marigot Hospital, or any government building in the country; there should be a maintenance crew, which take care of repairs when repairs becomes necessary.
There should be a cleaning crew also employed full time in every government building on the island someone should be responsible for the prevention of the dilapidated state in which we find all our government owned buildings in the country. It is not the responsibility of the Firemen, or the nurses to maintain, kill rats, and termites, and replace rotten material on any of the buildings when repairs becomes necessary.
When you insinuate that “a lot of people work for their selfish reason” that does not even make any sense. The government is responsible for the fumigation of government buildings, there should be a hired crew to undertake such chores. We are familiar with the term “Town Board” in modern English we are talking about the health inspectors which walked the streets of Roseau, even in the colonial days, who cited people for dumping their garbage on the side of the streets.
Such people should be monitoring government places of employment ensuring that they maintain proper sanitary condition. Josiah, is the culprit in this matter, as a so called fire chief, once the matter was drawn to his attention, he should have gone to the ministry of health, and talk to nasty turncoat Julius Timothy, and demand that he got the place fumigated,. Instead, he is running off his mouth going against the actions by these officers who are victims of the filthy conditions which they may have tolerated for a very long time.
An infestation means that the place have been over run by rats, and the probability of roaches also. To the Fed Up, I say it is people like you who are very selfish, so selfish, that you take the blame from the incompetent government, and the puppets like Josiah who they installed to serve them, and place the burden others as you claimed ” A lot of people work for their selfish reasons,” when in fact your comments derive from your personal selfish motive!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
Mr Letang needs to contact his fellow trade unionist in Trinidad and Tobago to assist him in getting things done for his unionized workers, how can rats be among people, a straight case fro the firemen to close down the building
So lets us be serious now the Hon PM saw it fit to deliver $500,000 to one religious organization then we have men who are of service to the country sleeping outside of a building that suppose to house the engine that will be used to protect the community from fires. Everything is upside down inside out back to front.
How else is he going to buy off the churches if he does not plant his seed.
Don’t worry…haha it’s Dominica Skero..
on the eve of the General Elections give each of them $2000.00 that’s how easily they are comforted in a place like Dominica..
all that shout about change, it’s just a fling…lol skero will trap Dominicans with rum, burning red goodies and the rest is History…..
the only how change can be effected is the masses need to be more forceful, the laid back wait and see attitude is questionable in my view knowing how timid Dominicans are…
why hasn’t the FOOLISH POLICE FORCE not arrested Anthony Astaphans on the leaking of skero’s IPO information…
it’s a fools paradise in Dominica, thus they will suck the dirt always..
Thats why change is a must. Never in my life here in Dominica have i seen such neglect to the same people who put a Government to work for them. People you do not owe the Government anything they drain your pocket with vat sothey have to work for you and they are clearly not doing it.Change is a must.
Smh. Now my people do you think that 27 million on a state house was necessary or 500 thousand to the church. That money could have been better spent on upgrading several fire houses. The emergency workers of the country should have to work in such conditions.
Now is the time for the so called team Dominica to step up and fix the issues so people can see a reason to vote for them..labor is letting me down now…I am staying out this election.
U staying out this election, and u still have guts to ask the team dominica to fix things. So u want them to fix things yet u doh want to vote them. U really impossible wee.
The reason I said I’m staying out is cuz labor disappointing and team Dominica has not proven themselves neither. Instead of just talking bad about labor, now is a perfect opportunity to show the people they care. THEN MAYBE I will see who to vote for.
But is so Skerrit have them. The mentality even when they want better they don’t know how to go about doing it. They want other people to prepare it and hand it to them. BUt it’s ok at least this person is seeing the light.
How do you expect them to fix things, are they the ones in government? fool
Team Dominica can only fix things after they are voted in and given a chance to serve. Right now they are not the Government. The Constitution only allows for one Government at a time.
IDIOT!!!! It seems that you have NO IDEA of how the process of Democracy and Parliament works!! If you’re not satisfied with the ruling party then you vote them out!! Don’t you understand and realize how much power your vote has???!!! How do you expect Team Dominica to fix things if they are not in government??!!
Jeezus Christ!!! Some people are so idiotic in their thinking it makes me want to scream!!
So instead the fire Chief Josiah Dupuis stand by his men he call the protest unnecessary? wow…..PROTEST! I would not want to be in those conditions neither. These men cannot be serving us when they are called and are being treated that way!! It’s wrong
One has to wonder where does the government priorities lie. You have hospitals closing, now firemen have to sleep outside in protest of the conditions of the fire station. Sleeping outside pose is a health risk to the fire fighters with the out break of chikungunya. This is a government that has done everything to enrich themselves and nothing for the people, yet they claim that they are more suitable to run the country; putting these people back in power is like signing a death warrant.
Fellow Dominicans, I urge you to stop the procrastination and join forces as one to vote this incompetent, tyrannical,arrogant, mediocre government out of power. Remember we put them there and we have the power to take them out. Why should we allow them to continue to insult our intelligence? They have taken us for granted for far too long, we must form a united front to conquer vanquish this monster.
Im glad that they are protesting
all firemen should do the same, the way that they are living is not acceptable,short paying them,treating them like they are not important. Its about time
I think it’s clear to see that these guys are responsible people and dedicated to their jobs.
As far as I can see, they have ALL reported to work to do the jobs they are paid to do and sworn to do well. They have just decided to take a firm stand NOT to sleep inside of a rat infested and delapidated ‘fire station’ to bring attention to their serious plight!
Very effective strategy.
I would like to ask whether the Fire Officers are from Portsmouth? Will sleeping outside prevent rats? Dominicans love running to Union. The fire officers whom I think are educated men should have a Committee or Body similar to the Police to negotiate or go as a delegation to the P.M. to discuss these pressing and humanitarian matters. Officers please think again . Are you all playing Politics. Suppose there is a fire, will you all go on duty ?
If you have been following the new you would see that they have gone to their union and that they were told about six months ago that they were working on things to make it better. Yo have to understand that a fireman goes to work for 24hrs at a time and I can tell you it is hard whe you cooking foor th see bat faeces falling in your pot or whe you sit on the toilet a rat run down your shoulder or when you get up in the morning your sheet full of wood dust from termite infestation. I applaud them for going to work because if a fire breaks out they are ther to take action but they are just not sleeping in the unsafe building. We all like to be in a comfortable and safe environment. This has nothing to do with politics it has to do with human dignity.
Did you read where it says they still attend work? What would you rather them do? sleep inside in the filth? Or sleep at home where they would have to make a next trip to the station before they could leave to attend to an emergency.
You are precisely what is wrong with Dominica. Why would they have to form a committee to go to the PM. stop being an idiot
Hee hor here hor Brewwwwww.
I understand that firemen are on call 24/7. But my thing is they should be in a better environment than that. Real talk.
The doctor’s opinion and now this…. Things are looking bleak for our PM with this up coming election. I do believe his party will remain majority party and may hold the same amount of seats with less votes or lose some seats.
I just want who ever is in power to listen to the will of the people and to provide for their needs given that funds are there. Dominicans need to pay taxes as well. Don’t cry out for services when you are avoiding paying taxes. Taxes are a necessary evil.
So, this will be a wake call to the PM and his party for another 5 years. So they won’t be able to go on the same trend as custom.
Some people are party loyalist, but Dominicans are not stupid and some have changed in the past and they can change again.
They are quite right ,after i have seen on many occasions that dominica fire worker are doing their job in fire with a simple t-shirt on,,,not even in africa fire worker work with a simple t-shirt…it is a shame on the gov’t to allow this ,people that are build roads have simple tennis shoes,mason with simple tennis shoes ,normally they should wear steel toe work shoes,,how can a man work if he is not in good health condition,,these jobs are high risks jobs special protection is needed,,
Fire Chief Josiah Dupuis, another political appointment who is not supporting the workers cause but he throwing blame at his men for not remaining quiet…
any government that comes in after the labour party must review theses so called managers
SKERRIT is doing everything in his power to start a war in Dominica. We who are bright must be careful he wants to declare state of emergency so there will be no election for a long time Don’t let him get to you if you are scared to go all the way like Grenada and get him out its war full blown or patience till he is voted out. he is trying the patience of civil servants, police officers, firemen, public workers every body working for the govt of DA.but he is running out of time not long again
Stop your rubbish talk idiot!!!!!!
STOP propagating war and negativitiy….there are a million other ways to state your dissatisfaction….we will ALL suffer if there’s a war….think about it….don’t you have a family or loved ones? LET US THINK BEFORE WE WRITE THOSE COMMENTS….Thank you and have a blessed day.
@saadn, you ARE ALREADY SUFFERING.
The SOLUTION to AVOIDING WAR and STOP the suffering is to VOTE.
If you are NOT SATISFIED with the results, you VOTE AGAIN. This is the REASON FOR VOTING.
At any time the people that are ELECTED to REPRESENT are NOT REPRESENTING, YOU SHOULD SET THEM ASIDE. You are ENTITLED to make CHANGES AS MANY TIMES AS POSSIBLE. This is WHY VOTING is a PROCESS.
This POSITION is not an ENTITLEMENT.
If one is HIRED to do a job, for instance, a cashier at Astaphan’s, and that EMPLOYEE is not doing the job, that EMPLOYEE WILL BE FIRED.
VOTING OUT THE SITTING GOVERNMENT IS THE SAME AS FIRING THAT CASHIER AT ASTAPHAN’S. The position as Prime Minister is the SAME as the cashier.
FORGET THE PARTY, THINK OF THE TREATMENT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, MINE TOO, AND THE ISLAND AS A WHOLE IS GETTING. DO YOU NOT WANT IMPROVEMENTS, PROGRESS, AND A BETTER WAY OF LIFE? VOTE!
This an issue for the ministry of communications and works. The minister for this area is responsible. Get off your high horse and do something ASAP.
If this administration get another term the only thing that will be left is Domies-in cans
You guys are having a laugh. You mean to say that Team Dominica can fix every thing then if that is the case Dominicans go ahead and vote for them.
I have never come across in my entire life a government in the world who can make changes in all direction all aspects etc, if there was such a thing do you think we would need an opposition there would be nothing to argue about all the country’s needs would be met. Come on please you need money to pay for programes and the pot is empty .
Valid point, people need to realize it takes money. If there is no money nothing gets done. It takes time to build a tourist package or build a reputation or get rid of one even,
meanwhile a 27 million dollar state palace went up and 500 thousand was given to a religious institution for repair of their own palace. But the people who are there to protect us in the case of an emergency can’t get a repair and upgrade to their building for over a year?? Money you say? The way I see it there is plenty money. It’s all about where the money is being used
It is very, very sad that both the Labour party members and the UWP members are unable to temper their language.
There is no reason why these people need to resort to such language.
You all need to grow up as you all are behaving worse than recalcitrant children!
Not impressed by the odious behaviour of you so called role models.
Good job officers…I support you all 100%. It is a damn shame that your chief would try to throw you under the bus instead of joining the protest. Let him run under Skerrit skirt still.
Deputy Jones and the once acting Deputy Chief Williams were the ones who would fight for the firemen men but they frustrated Jones (he retired young) and refused to promote Williams in the Deputy position. Now both the Chief and Deputy are looking for someone to lead them. Politics is killing the country.
Williams is not liked because he is a straight up guy and so some men from the east undermined him for BS just to get the promotion but now the heat is on they have no answers.
To the officers I say, keep on protesting until your demands are met. No “we working on it” promises. While you at it demand that you get a new chief and deputy because those you have now don’t have a clue. be reminded that change is NOT an option.
Assertive, NOT Agressive!
“Dupuis has criticized the course of action taken by the officers and said it is not reasonable.”(DNO)
I suggest that the words of Josiah are the words of someone of very little knowledge, or none whatsoever, if he was informed, at this point; he would not be defending the health hazards existing within the Fire Station. The officers are very health conscious and have taken the appropriate action intended to protect their personal health, and the health of their immediate families; while Josiah desires to uphold the wrong.
He is in defense of a situation which can take the life of these officers. Whereas he is protecting the filth, in the process he is jeopardizing his very own life, I supposed to prove to the puppet masters that he is quite satisfied with the conditions under which the officers are supposed to sleep. Haven’t Josiah heard the term rodents? Perhaps he should familiarize himself, and understand that rats are rodents too; they do spread bacterial diseases. Rats are carriers of diseases, they can transmit theses diseases through physical contact, bites, by contamination, or by fleas that are feeding on the rodent.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is transferred via inhalation of rodent urine, droppings or saliva. Whereas there is a confirm infestation of the rats rather than Josiah keep babbling about unreasonable actions by these people he should be get the exterminator if they exist in Dominica to go in and resolve the problem, if you have an infestation of rats, combined with toilets which are inoperable there could soon be an outbreak the following diseases.
Diseases directly transmitted by Rodents are:
. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
. Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
. Lassa Fever
. Leptospirosis
. LMC (Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis)
. Omsk Hemorrhagic Fever
. Plague
. Rat-Bite Fever
. Salmonellosis
Historically, infected fleas have transmitted serious plagues from rats to humans. Bubonic plague was a scourge in Europe several times throughout history. There are still outbreaks of plague in the United States and around the world today. Trichinosis may be contracted through eating undercooked meat of animals that have fed on rats. Rats contaminating food or food preparation surfaces can transmit food poisoning. Rats can also transmit rat bite fever through bacteria in their mouth.
Ignorant people see everything in a simply way; as dangerous as this could be I suppose in Josiah’s mind it is a simple matter, and the people whose life’s are in jeopardy should simply ignore the danger and go to sleep every night, and hope by morning they will not wake with bacteria deposited in their body via the bite of a rat bite!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
my support to the fire officers.good strategy. you r at work andtherefore have not abandoned your post. next move should be to call out all other officers in tprotest and solidarity. hold strain my friends
from listen to the chief fire officer , on dbs radio , he is not for firemen his fighting with them , instead of trying to get thing resolved.i am appealing to the government that this chief is trying to bring our country down. he needs to be FIRED with immediate effect. my brother is a fire officers and they have been taking it for a long time . Mr PM do the honorable and get rid of this low lying creature.
this are our first responders , they need to be treated like humans.
Why don’t some employers understand that people need to be treated as people and that good working conditions are vital to human beings, no matter if they work in the fields or within structures?
They understand very well. They just don’t give a d###.
this is another example of a failed GOVERNMENT to allow first the hospital in marigot and now the fire station in portsmouth shame on them,and by the way where is the palrep for portsmouth it is really a crying shame that the GOVERNMENT is allowing GOVERNMENT institute to be run down like that,my fellow DOMINICANS we cannot continue to live like this lets open our eyes put aside party politics and colour and lets think about DOMINICA and were we want to see our country in the future not only for us but our children and grand children.TIME FOR THIS FAILED ADMINISTRATION TO GO,CHANGE IS A MOST NOT AN OPTION.THE UNITED WORKERS PARTY HAVE A VISION FOR OUR COUNTRY,THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE,THE BEST PLACE TO WORK AND THE BEST PLACE TO ENJOY LIFE,GET ON BOARD AND VOTE FOR CHANGE VOTE FOR JOBS VOTE FOR A BETTER FUTURE VOTE FOR TEAM DOMINICA.
@BORN DOMINICAN, the Pal Rep’s house is in GOOD CONDITION, do you think he CARES? I think he is rallying to HOLD ON TO HIS POST, as Pal Rep.
sleep outside??? really??? why not just go home, sleep and not turn up for work… that would be more comfortable
The reason they do not go home, and sleep is because they are responsible people who have sworn to serve and protect the property of the people.
If there is a fire, by the time they leave home to return to the Fire Station to get into action, the whole of Portsmouth will be burned to the ground. Maybe if the nurses at the Marigot Hospital had taken similar actions, the hospital would not be closed today.
I wonder what lie the Labor Party is going to tell the people of Marigot, Wesley, and Woodford Hill about the closure of their hospital why it is closed after operating for more than a hundred years; to get them to vote labor.
Athena, I hope you do not embarrass yourself, and help lie the Labor Party out of this, because we all know that it is all due to the incompetence of Julius Timothy, Skerrit and them all which cause the closure of the hospital, Skerrit, and Timothy are responsible for the closer of the Marigot Hospital, and no one can lie there way out of such fact!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
The government has a part to play in this, no doubt, but many times we fail to see that the people of the country play a larger part in its destruction. A lot of people work for their selfish reasons. They come to work late, leave early, spend hours doing things that do not relate to their jobs during working hours and are not fired because the bosses, i.e., all bosses from government down to the supervisors, are their friends. Co-workers in turn state that ‘Jane can do it and so can I’. Unless the attitude of Dominicans changes Dominica will not move forward. Change starts with one person.
fed-up has a valid point but one of our many tendencies in Dominica is to conflate all distantly related issues into one.
Yes tardiness and low productivity are serious problems in the country but what exactly does that have to do with the issue the firemen at the Portsmouth station are trying to solve? Pray tell?
@ Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque, I agree.
I do not believe the Marigot Hospital was closed because of TERMITES.
I believe that Hospital was closed to MAKE A POINT.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CLEAN UP TERMITES? WHERE DID THE TERMITES COME FROM? WHY WAS TERMITES ALLOWED TO GET TO THE STAGE OF CLOSURE? One has to be “TERMITELY” BLIND to NOT NOTICE what is going on.
That is sad. State of the art infrastructure going up everywhere however those that are already in operation are delapidated. Tell me where the priorities of those in charge are? Dupuis you apparently did not do enough to ensure that your men are taken care off. How can they be unreasonable? They at least show up for work. Mr. Fire chief, are you scared of ruffling some feathers to ensure your men have a safe and healthy working environment at all times? The worst thing that can happen is loose your men respect and moral. Its time for action.
Yes, that is a PM that care about his people, people, rats, all in one bed.
Rats are usually attracted and encouraged by people’s bad or dirty habits. We all bear a responsibility to ensure that our surroundings are maintained in a hygienic way.
and the bat infestation in the roof is due to what? and the termite dust falling from the ceiling and the side walls is due to what? give me a break. I hope your house has no rats. I support you firemen and I hope someone is listening
Tell that to the Ministry of Health and Solid Waste Management. Solid waste garbage trucks breaks down every other week. We have to wait 3 and 4 weeks before garbage is picked up in Zicack (which is where the fire station and hospital are). That being said, there must be rat infestation.
Garbage disposal is a HUGE problem in Dominica.
dotish bat
It could also be the lack of maintenance, so tell me giving the tiny income that they do get, are they suppose to fix the buildings and maintain it as well?? Rats w also gets in through holes etc and also it could be from the surrounding areas. So who to say that hey may not be keeping a clean house??
But all you love all you PM! so sleep with the rats. Why the chief not coming and spend a night with all you?
Dupius your BREAD is well BUTTERED ………… my husband is a fire officer and he along with our three children are feeling the pain I support the protest action 100%
if de man bread buttered, he doh have to buy gas for 16.05, he going home everyday with a GA…. master god skerrit have many mini gods under him
Stand strong, fight for better working conditions. You all deserve better.