As the dry season intensifies the bushfire threat, the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service is urging the public to exercise greater caution.
With more than 400 bushfires recorded already this year, Fire Sub-Officer Jude Rogers is highlighting a troubling trend, noting that the vast majority of fires in the bush are caused by human activity.
“For the first two months of January and February of this year, we are well over 400 fires that we have responded to, and I dare say that we have probably responded to more because a lot of the fires that we deal with it’s just one after the next and a lot of the fires we are not able to get to every single one.”
This alarming statistic underscores the preventable nature of these fires, which continue to put both lives and the environment at risk.
“The human impact or the human interaction with the flora and fauna and with land and property has been the number one cause of fires in Trinidad and Tobago. And I’m talking about whether it’s the casual flicking of a cigarette butt out of your window, the throwing out of a bottle as you drive along the nation’s highway, littering of glass, and all of these things which magnify the sun’s reflection, causes heat to build up, and it can cause fires to start.”
He noted that the impact of these fires continues to put strain on responses to other emergencies across the country.
“Every bushfire that we respond to takes us away from the core business of protecting the nation against house fires and also dealing with accidents on the nation’s roadway, performing rescue operations. We have to prioritise when we do things. So you have limited resources, but you have this wide gamut of calls that we deal with on a daily basis. And when we’re dealing with bushfires, they don’t come in singulars. They come in multiples, and they’re one after the next.”
He reminded the public that permits for burning bush privately should be acquired from the Fire Service at a cost of TT$10, or you could face a fine of TT$20,000.