The water tender involved in an accident last November was so badly damaged that it should have been disposed of. Acting deputy chief fire officer Dana Roach made that recommendation in a November 29 letter which also recommended that a replacement should be acquired for approximately $2.7 million. The letter was written before Cabinet agreed to the reduced price of $6.8 million for retrieving the firetruck after it ran over a cliff in Blanchisseuse.
Cabinet twice refused to agree to the original quotation of $10 million. The letter, obtained by the T&T Guardian, said nine days after the accident on November 17, the truck was inspected by a team comprising acting brigades engineer Earl Browne, acting divisional fire officer Arnold Bristo and the service manager of Indocom Ltd, local agent for Rosenbauer International, the company that supplied the water tender.
The inspection was to evaluate its serviceability. The team found damage to the entire rear of the appliance, damage to the water tank and severe damage to the crew cab and the drive train. On this basis Roach wrote: “In this regard the general consensus was that it was too costly to refurbish the vehicle as opposed to purchasing a new appliance for approximately $2.7 million.
“It is therefore recommended that the appliance be placed on a board of survey listing to be disposed of, with a further recommendation that the appliance be retained and those serviceable parts be utilised for the maintenance of existing and similar appliances in the fleet.” Contacted yesterday, Roach said, “Well, first of all I have no comment to make...As far as I am concerned that is an internal matter. “A decision was made to retrieve the vehicle and that is it,” he added.
The water tender, from the Arima Fire Station, was responding to a call from Blanchisseuse when it ran off the road, plunging over a 300-foot cliff, a T&T Guardian exclusive reported on Tuesday. Six firefighters were aboard but escaped serious injury.
Cabinet twice refused to sign off on the $10,189,115 quotation submitted, but eventually agreed to a revised price of $6.8 million. The note was taken to Cabinet by the national security minister at the time, Jack Warner. The tender was retrieved by Sammy’s Multilift Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Junior Sammy Contractors.
In an interview with the T&T Guardian last week, Ramdath Ramsubir, of Sammy’s Multilift, insisted the cost was “justified,” when told that concerns had been raised about the hefty sum paid for the job. Ramsubir said: “It required a lot of equipment and manpower. It took us four days. We used modular trailers and we had other mobile equipment that was used to minimise traffic. We had about 25 people on site who literally camped out there.”
However, in a report dated November 22 and sent to permanent secretary in the National Security Ministry Jennifer Boucaud-Blake, former chief fire officer Carl Williams said the job was completed two days after the accident. Ramsubir could not be contacted yesterday.
What the Fire Service reported:
In a cover letter attached to the report sent to the PS, former chief fire officer Carl Williams wrote:
“Mr Junior Sammy of Jusamco Ltd was contacted and a crew from that company was sent to retrieve the water tanker from the precipice. This Herculean task was achieved at around 9 pm on November 19. “The appliance vehicle was sent to Arima Fire Station to maintain our emergency response in that area.” Williams also mentioned the outstanding payment to Sammy’s Multilift Services Ltd.
Referring Boucaud-Blake to the invoice submitted, Williams said: “I have perused the attached document and found the contents to be genuine. “In this regard, the payment to Sammy’s Multilift Services Ltd in the sum of $10,189,115 remains outstanding. “This payment is to be made for retrieval of No 504 water tanker, registration TBY 9251 which fell down a precipice in Blanchisseuse (in the vicinity of Asa Wright Nature Centre) on November 17, 2012.”
Williams reported that the Fire Service land search and rescue teams from the Santa Cruz and Chaguanas Fire Stations had gone to the scene but were unable to retrieve the water tender.
Breakdown of the bill:
While Ramsubir refused to give a breakdown of the bill, the T&T Guardian obtained a copy of the pricing for the job.
The $10 million bill (VAT inclusive) listed:
Supply of equipment—$7,539,000
Supply of manpower—$303,600
Supply of supervisors—$522,500
Transportation of workers—$100,000
Miscellaneous tools (compressor, power tools)—$150,000
Consumables—$115,000
Hygienic facilities—$65,000
Meals—$65,000