Keith Campbell, of the St Joseph Forestry Division, reportedly died at hospital from burns he sustained while being trapped and overcome by the flames he was fighting yesterday on Lady Chancellor Road. My heart feels so, so heavy as I send my sincere condolences to his family and loved ones for their terrible loss. Three other colleagues of his were injured—one is still hospitalised with severe burns.
I want to publicly thank them for responding to the call out—particularly on a public holiday—and for their hard work and bravery. I also want to say thank you to our little Chancellor Crew, Renny Reynos, his son Mark, and Tony.
Before the Fire Services arrived, Renny and The Boys used a 100-gallon, refillable tank on the back of their van and our small, portable motor pump to prevent the flames from crossing Lady Chancellor Road and spreading up into the hills and out of the range of any fire appliance. (Over the years they have prevented the spread of many potential fires in the area.)
Yesterday, they also played a pivotal role in the rescue attempts of the trapped forestry men by using the pump’s hose to try and help them climb out of the gully. Renny then rushed the other badly burnt forestry worker (who will survive) to the hospital in his vehicle. A thousand thanks, guys.
This particular fire began in the backyard of a Hutton Road resident who was fully cognisant of the illegality and dangers of burning in the dry season.
Earlier that morning I had driven past yet another fire on Hutton Road, which had been lit by three men who were sitting on the side of the road. I stopped to let them know that they were breaking the law and reminded them of the fire risks, only to be met with blank stares followed by a request from one for rum, beers and chasers. The only reason that particular fire did not spread out of control as well was that it was still early in the morning and the seasonal winds had not picked up.
The tragedy of this story is that it was all completely preventable, (as are the vast majority of fires that decimate our environment every single year), only this time a life has been lost and other lives changed forever.
Will it make one jot of difference? Will anyone be prosecuted? Fined? It’s $200 if you “get ketch” causing a fire—and how often does that happen? Isn’t it a $1,000 fine for using one’s hose? Madness!
I despair at the stultifying ignorance and lethargy of the average Trinidadian who gazes passively and unseeingly on the burning hills and valleys, believing it to be a natural process. I despair as everyone parties blindly while this beauteous, blessed island quietly dies under clouds of smoke, pollutants and oceans of trash.
Let us not allow Keith Campbell’s death to be in vain. Let us put in place some genuine, workable strategies to protect us and our land.
Let us have a public forum where those of us who care have the opportunity to offer up strategies and ideas. Give us that chance. We have to do more.
Barbara Jardine
Lady Chancellor Road,
Port-of-Spain