Rio Claro fire officers relocated to Mayaro

Fire officers attached to the Rio Claro Fire Station, which was evacuated on Sunday over health and safety concerns, have been temporarily relocated to the Mayaro Fire Station.

Acting Chief Fire Officer Ansar Ali says the arrangement would result in an additional eight minutes being added to response times for emergency calls originating in Rio Claro because of the distance between the two communities.

Ali, who is acting in the position following the departure of Chief Fire Officer Andy Hutchinson on pre-retirement leave, told the Express yesterday that the Mayaro station was large enough to accommodate officers from both stations, as well as the fire appliances from Rio Claro.