Deputy Fire Officer Roosevelt Bruce is now acting Chief Fire Officer of the Fire Service.In a phone interview yesterday, Bruce, who has 35 years service, said on Tuesday he received a call from the Ministry of National Security informing him of his appointment, since Chief Fire Officer Naya Rampersad had gone on vacation leave.Bruce said there was much for him to do now that he was in the post.
"There are quite a few things I want to address and one is the morale of the service. I want to boost it right now," he said, adding he planned to meet with the members of the Fire Service Association tomorrow.One of the issues was the recent shortage of diesel which forced the service to shut down some stations."We have diesel now and we may need to change how things are done and I want to work with the executive team to collect some of the issues from the members of the Fire Service," he said.
Meanwhile, police said yesterday an investigation had not been launched into allegations that a senior fire officer had abused an auxillary fire-fighter as no official report had been made. The senior fire officer is also at the centre of a social media furore after lewd photos of him were posted online.Speaking during the police weekly media briefing, public information officer, ASP Michael Pierre, said the police had no reports of alleged abuse by the fire officer.
Apart from the lewd photos, there were also photos of the fire officer allegedly attacking the female auxillary officer. The victim, sources said, was forced to take sick leave after the attack and was fired from her position soon after the incident, which occurred late last year.Yesterday, Pierre encouraged all victims of criminal offences to report the matter to the police and an investigation would be launched.