National Fire Service Moves Closer to Permanent Headquarters

After almost six years without a permanent base, the National Fire Service in Belize City is moving closer to getting a headquarters of its own.  Minister of Disaster Risk Management Henry Charles Usher has confirmed that land has been identified near the Eleanor Hall Building, where the Government intends to construct a purpose-built fire service compound.  The proposed facility would bring the service’s administrative headquarters, training yard, mechanical workshop and operational resources together at one location. Usher says the Government is now working to secure the financing needed to move the project into construction.

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service: “When the National Fire Service headquarters was sold by the UDP administration there was no plan for it. There was nowhere for the National Fire Service to go. They had been begging lodging at the Marion Jones Stadium, a place that was not suitable for the National Fire Service. We are preparing and we are in plans now to get the new National Fire Service headquarters built very close to the Eleanor Hall building. There’s a land designated there so we’re happy that we’re proceeding with that. We’re looking for funding for that particular project as we speak. Currently a space is being rented for a part of the National Fire Service, not the full headquarters. The administrative headquarters is there as well as the north side fire station is there. The mechanical yard has been moved to the Ladyville and other areas have been moved to other areas because we just don’t have the space available in the other locations. But when we do build the new headquarters, we’ll be able to have the administrative headquarters, the mechanical yard, the training yard, etc. the National Fire Service so it will be good.” 

The fire service did have a stable office, but in 2020, its headquarters on Cleghorn Street was sold to Atlantic Bank for approximately 2.8 million dollars.  The sale was completed under the former UDP administration shortly before the November 2020 general election. At the time, the Government said the Cleghorn Street building was cramped and unsuitable for efficient emergency deployment. However, the property was sold before a replacement station was built, leaving firefighters to move into temporary accommodation.  The former administration had identified the Holy Emmanuel area near Chetumal Boulevard as the intended location for a new station, but construction never began. For more than four years, the service operated from the Marion Jones Sports Complex on Princess Margaret Drive. In September 2025, the headquarters was moved again, this time to Calle al Mar Street. That location primarily accommodates the administrative arm of the service, meaning its Belize City operations remain divided among different sites. Love News reported that the move was another temporary arrangement while funding for a permanent compound was pursued.  To date, no construction date has been announced and financing has not yet been finalized.