Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter

Montague

The Government will be establi-shing a permanent training school for the Jamaica Fire Brigade.

This is according to Robert Montague, Minister of State in charge of Local Government.

Mr. Montague said the Government has released $1 million from the Equalisation Fund to assist in the clearing of the cite, which has been identified at Twickenham Park, St. Catherine.

"We are determined that after the training of this current batch of firefighters, the next batch ought to be trained at the facility designated as the fire training school," said Montague recently.He told The Gleaner that currently the Government has to be renting offices to conduct the training.

"Right now, we are paying in the region of $20 million per year to rent a facility to do the six months training for the men and that money could be better spent on the site and then we would have a permanent home for the fire men," he said.

Mr. Montague said the new facility would allow the Jamaica Fire Brigade to offer short courses to increase the department's capabilities and capacities. He said work should commence soon in the next financial year.

The minister did not say how soon the school would be established. But Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Laurie Williams said the plan for the school was in its "embryonic stage".

"As far as I know, the planning is still taking place," he said. "How much it is going to cost is too early to say."

He said plans for the training school has been in place since 2005. To date only a committee has been established to determine how the land would be used and the type of training that would be offered at the institution, said Commissioner Williams.