Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams (second right), serves breakfast to several persons living on the streets of the Corporate Area, who were catered to during the Mayor’s Annual Christmas Day Feeding of the Homeless treat at the Marie Atkins Night Shelter on Hanover Street, downtown Kingston, on Sunday (December 25). Assisting Senator Williams is the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation’s (KSAMC) Inspector of Poor, Mavis Farquharson (second left). The activity, which is one aspect of the KSAMC’s Homeless Programme, is coordinated by the organisation’s Poor Relief Department.

People don’t often think about fire hydrants and their significance, and so the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) is reminding the public that hydrants are just as important to the public as they are to the Brigade.

“We implore members of the public to be understanding of the fact that fire hydrants are one way in which the fire brigade gets water – the main item for putting out a fire. The network of fire hydrants is extremely important to us and it is extremely important to you as citizens as well, which is why you will see hydrants placed in strategic areas at strategic points,” Public Relations Officer, JFB, Emeleo Ebanks, told JIS News.

The island’s extensive network of fire hydrants is continuously growing, in light of the boom in the local construction industry. New developments like plazas, subdivisions and multi-dwelling units must include in their development plans the strategic placement of safety devices, such as fire hydrants, within the geographical area.

Mr. Ebanks shared that fire hydrants exist for the Brigade’s use during an emergency and are maintained periodically by the respective fire stations.

“Every three months we try to go in and do basic checks. Each fire station has what we call a ‘fire ground’, so they are responsible for a geographical space. They will make sure that all the hydrants, as much as possible, are in working condition in their working space,” the Public Relations Officer said.

During a routine maintenance, firefighters first ensure accessibility to the hydrant by clearing debris from around the structure. The valve box and barrel of the hydrant are then cleared. The barrel, the upright column of the hydrant, is flushed to remove impediments and confirm that water can be accessed from the hydrant. Once complete, the hydrant is given a fresh coat of paint to signify that it has been recently serviced.

The signs of a hydrant in need of servicing that the general public can look for include a leaking hydrant, the settling of water around a hydrant or one that has water coming up from underground.

Persons are being encouraged to help in the care of fire hydrants by not blocking access to them or inserting stones or other debris into the hydrant barrel, and to be on the lookout for misuse.

“If you see a fire hydrant in need of repair, call the Jamaica Fire Brigade immediately. Do not mess around with the hydrants. If you see persons tampering with the fire hydrant, we ask that you call the police or call the Fire Brigade, so we can come in and remedy the situation.

Hydrants are important to us and they are also important to you,” added Mr. Ebanks.

Office: 58a Half Way Tree Road, Kingston 10 Jamaica, W.I

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Initial Officer Training Programme (IOTP) provides basic military officer training to Officer Cadets (OCdts) and their equivalents from law enforcement and uniformed services. The programme falls within the tactical level of the Professional Military Education (PME) framework of armed forces and is modelled from the Royal Military Academy Sandhursts’ (RMAS) Commissioning Course.  It was designed with the direct support and guidance of RMAS Instructing and Support Staff.

Traditionally, the Jamaica Defence Force’s (JDF) longstanding partnerships with militaries across the world has seen its OCdts being trained in academies in the following countries: United States, England, Canada, China and India. Upon the return of OCdts to the JDF, there is a requirement for doctrine and operating procedure standardization due to the varying concepts and differing contents of the training they had undergone. This is normally done at the Unit level and later, through a Young Officers’ Course. The advent of COVID-19 added a new level of complexity to travel, thus negatively affecting the process of sending OCdts overseas. Additionally, the ongoing expansion and restructuring of the Force to cauterize the ballooning threats to national security has caused an increased demand for newly commissioned Second Lieutenants.

Due to the carefully adapted military and academic curricula, IOTP serves as the course to treat with the aforementioned considerations. The methodology used addresses each issue directly and the course, through the delivery of a bespoke training syllabus, is fit for the JDF and is also relevant to the militaries and organizations within the Caribbean region and in other parts of the world.

Having the RMAS approach to training at its core, IOTP is designed with a syllabus that sees male and female integration throughout training. The course focusses on developing military skills and command with a leadership ‘golden thread’. The course structure allows the Instructing Staff to educate, build, develop and scrutinize an OCdt’s ability to decide and communicate accurately and ethically while under pressure and or stress. The expectation is that on commissioning, an OCdt will be fully cognizant of the responsibilities and personal conditions that being an Officer imposes upon them. The product of the IOTP will be an ethical and robust Officer who has the knowledge, skills, attitudes and intellectual agility to adapt their decision-making process and approach to any environment.

The home of IOTP is the Caribbean Military Academy (CMA) Newcastle, which is located at the Newcastle Hill Station, St Andrew, Jamaica.

Nestled in the cool hills of upper St Andrew and amidst beautiful trees, ferns, ground orchids, delicate wild flowers and a profusion of ginger lilies, is the Newcastle

Training Depot founded in 1841 by Major General Sir William Maynard Gomm (later Field Marshall). Gomm, a veteran of the wars against revolutionary France and Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica from 1840 to 1841, relentlessly badgered the War Office in London to establish a mountain station for British soldiers in Jamaica soon after taking up his post.

The idea of the hill station was first raised by Gomm in a letter dated April 7, 1840 to Governor Sir Charles Metcalfe. Gomm pointed out that while Up Park Camp was an ideal location for a barracks, it was subject to the ravages of yellow fever. In Jamaica the

British garrison was stationed on the plain at Up Park Camp, Stony Hill, Fort Augusta and Port Royal. Here, on the average, 1 soldier died every 2½ days. According to Russell, the year 1838 was considered a ‘good’ year: only 91 men died. In 1839, 110 men perished and in the following year 121. Initially, the British government was conservative in approving a hill station for the troops in Jamaica. They were concerned about the expense of the venture.

In May 1841, London finally sanctioned Gomm’s efforts to build what is thought to be the first permanent mountain station in the British West Indies at Newcastle. The site selected was a coffee plantation protruding from the southern face of the grand ridge of the Blue Mountains. The British government paid £4,230 for the Newcastle site.

At the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), life at Newcastle changed a little. The British regiment was replaced by Canadian regiments which remained at Newcastle for the duration of the war. With hostilities over in 1945, the Canadians left and once again a British battalion was stationed there.

In 1958, the West Indies Federation was founded and the infantry regiments of the various Caribbean islands were disbanded and reorganized into the West India Regiment. Newcastle became a training depot, training recruits from all over the West Indies as part of the

newly formed West Indies Federation. In 1962 when Federation was disbanded, the West India Regiment was also disbanded. Jamaica simultaneously sought her independence, which was achieved on August 6, 1962. With independence, Newcastle was given to the Jamaican government as part of a general settlement of all military lands in Jamaica.