Fire Service welcomes halt to Independence Day parade

Members of the Fire Services display a fire tender during the Independence day parade at the Queen's Park Savannah in this file photo.

President of the Fire Service Association (FSA) Keyone Guy sees a silver lining in the cancellation of the Independence Day parade and related celebrations, including the fireworks display.

The FSA president told Newsday in a voice note and in response to questions that while the fire service enjoys being able to engage with the public and put the discipline of its officers and its equipment on display, the parade puts a strain on their already limited resources.

“It does have a practical benefit to the fire service specifically,” he said. “It allows us to keep all available appliances at the available stations, ready to respond to situations without much compromise.”

“We remain hopeful that in this coming year that we were able to secure additional appliances that would be on the way and by the following year (2026) for Independence Day, the fire service will be able to carry on with that long-standing tradition.”

The FSA has complained bitterly for years over a lack of equipment.

In August 2024r, Guy said the Fire Service was “on the brink of collapse” noting a wide range of issues including a lack of fire appliances (fire trucks) and that the appliances available to the service are more than two decades old.

He said the fire service usually has uses between 125 and 150 people during the parade.

“The fire service usually has two platoons – a male and a female platoon. Each platoon carries 30 people then there are several vehicles which have to be manned, then you have your outriders as well as members from the fire service band who performs at the savannah and leads the fire service on the street parade.”

He said although preparations had started for this year's parade, given the reasons for the cancellation, firemen received the announcement well and accepted it.

Acting Chief Fire Officer Andy Hutchingson said as there will be no Independence Day parade, the fire service will not hold its "after party," hosting several high-profile guests including the Prime Minister, members of Cabinet and the opposition.

"If there's no parade, then we automatically will cancel that," he said.

He said the funding that would usually go to the celebrations will now go to "other things that we need."He also said from his feedback the fire service accepts and supports the Government's decision.

"In my discussion with the executive, it is a common understanding that the we are in agreement with the standing the government would have taken," he said.

A statement from the Ministry of Homeland Security on August 15 said the parade was halted after security concerns were raised amid the State of Emergency (SoE) declared on July 18.

The statement said while the immediate threat had been disrupted, several co-conspirators were still not yet in custody.