The Fire Department’s ability to better communicate during critical moments, such as during the passing of hurricanes or other disasters, was elevated with the arrival of communication equipment purchased through the Sint Maarten Trust Fund by the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB). The new communication equipment is one element of support being offered to Fire Department under the Trust Fund. Earlier this year there was the procurement of specialized breathing equipment and training in June and July. The next items presently being procured are customized fire trucks, safety, rescue and other equipment.

Speaking on the procurement of the communication equipment NRPB Director Claret Connor observed, “Each time we are able to deliver on these valuable resources, be it in physical equipment or training, we are one step closer as a country to restoring what was lost. More importantly, we are also ensuring that our critical services are now better equipped than they were before to handle the future disasters”.

The delivery of sixty handheld terminals, thirteen mobile terminals, forty pagers and 3 base terminals were appreciatively received by the department’s Head Clive Richardson and Materials and Logistics Coordinator Marvin Dollison. The handing over was jointly done by Connor and Albert Kemper, Branch Manager of Critical Communication Caribbean (C3).

The communication equipment was supported by the Emergency Recovery Project of the Sint Maarten Trust Fund, which is financed through the Government of the Netherlands, managed by the World Bank and implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau.