The following is a list of Fire Stations, locations and Telephone Numbers

AREA I

Kingston & St. Andrew

York Park
167 Orange St. Kgn(10), Ph. 922-2121-2 or 922-2127-9 or 922-2150-1 or 922-2153-4
Half-Way-Tree
Half-Way-Tree Kgn(10), Ph. 926-8165-6 or 920-2488
Rollington Town
14 Giltress St. Kgn(2), Ph. 928-1041 or 928-1063
Port Royal
Cagway Rd.Kgn(1), Ph. 924-8414 or 9967-8054-5
Stony Hill
Seaview Road, Stony Hill Kgn(9), Ph. 942-3053 or 942-3055 or 942-3410
Trench Town
Spanish Twn Rd., Ph. 923-4155 or 923-5970
Fire Boat
New Port East, Ph. 922-7018
Fire Prevention Division
8 Ocean Blvd. Ph. 967-1268 or 967-4891 or 967-4893 or 922-2523

St. Thomas

Morant Bay
Debtors Lane, St. Thomas Ph. 982-2268
Yallahs
Yallahs, St. Thomas Ph. 982-5600

AREA II

Portland

Port Antonio
West Baptist Ave., Ph. 993-2525 or 993-3041

Buff Bay
Baker Street, Ph. 9996-1501

St. Mary

Port Maria

1 Banana Street, Ph. 994-2285 or 994-2771
Annotto Bay
Main Street, Ph. 996-2216
Oracabessa Assistant Commissioner’s Office
Ph. 975-3587

St. Ann

St. Ann’s Bay
3 Bravo Street, Ph. 972-2322
Ocho Rios
Ph. 974-2317 or 972-2221

Trelawny

Falmouth
Lower Parade, Ph. 954-3230 or 954-4451
AREA III

St. Catherine

Spanish Town
King street, Ph. 9984-2251 or 984-4217 or 984-7827 or 984-5789 or 943-9534
Old Harbour
South Street,Ph. 983-2276
Linstead
Vanity Fair,Ph. 985-2333
Portmore
Parkway,Ph. 988-2357

Clarendon

May Pen
Brooks Avenue,Ph. 986-2192 or 986-2064 or 902-4525
Frankfield
Ph. 964-2441

Manchester

Mandeville
Brigade Crescent,Ph. 962-2588 or 962-2780 or 962-5935
Christiana
Main Street, Ph. 964-2444
AREA IV

St. James

Montego Bay
Barnette St.,Ph. 952-2311 or 952-2145
IronShore
Ironshore, Ph. 952-4097 or 953-2998

Hanover

Lucea
Main St.,Ph. 956-2220 or 956-92414
EMS.,Ph. 956-3538

Westmoreland

Savanna-La-Mar
Darling St.,Ph. 955-2540 or 955-2666 or 955-3331
Negril
Redground, Ph. 957-4242 or 957-3776

St. Elizabeth

Black River
Brigade St.,Ph. 965-2222 or 965-2740
Santa Cruz
Institution Drive, Ph. 966-2302
Junction
Junction, Ph. 965-8622

The Jamaica Fire Brigade is a Statutory Body within the Office of the Prime Minister – Department of Local Government. Its central administration is headed by a Board of Directors which sets broad policy guidelines implemented by a Commissioner in whom is vested the operational command and the day-to-day running of the Brigade.

The role of the Jamaica Fire Brigade is to protect life and property from fire or other disasters within the Island and its territorial seas. This role translates into the specific duties of:
1. Extinguishing fires.

2. Protecting life and property endangered by fire or other disasters.

3. Obtaining information with regard to potential risks from fire or other disasters.

4. Inspecting buildings to ensure that reasonable steps are taken for the prevention of fire and for protection against the dangers of fire or other disasters.

5. Making arrangements to ensure that reasonable steps are taken to prevent or mitigate loss or injury arising from fire or other disasters.

6. Rendering pre-hospital emergency medical care and/or treatment to ill or injured persons and transporting them to recognized medical institutions.

7. Carrying out other functions for the purpose of preventing or mitigating risks or danger to life and property as the Minister may, by order, require the Fire Brigade to undertake from time to time.

For carrying out its functions the Brigade is broadly divided into two branches. An Operations Branch and an Administrative Branch, each headed by a Deputy Commissioner.

The Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations has overall responsibility for thefour(4) “Areas” which carry out the major responsibilities of the Brigade in firefighting and rescue operations islandwide. Headed by Assistant Commissioners, these Areas are drawn up along geographic lines for administrative and operational purposes. The Areas are further sub-divided into thirteen (13) Divisions which conform to parish boundaries. Presently there are thirty-three (33) Fire Stations spread islandwide throughout the Divisions. These are served by a fleet of ninety-one (91) operational (firefighting and rescue) vehicles and fifty-eight (58) utility vehicles. There are also three (03) Fire Boats, one each assigned to the harbours in Kingston,Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. The Fire Prevention and Public Relations Division and the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) also fall under the Operations Branch of the Brigade providing fire prevention services and emergency medical rescue (Paramedic) services.

The Deputy Commissioner in charge of Administration has overall responsibility for the six (06) Departments which provide administrative support services to all areas of the Brigade. These support services are provided through the Brigade Stores, the Accounts, Communications, Personnel and Training Departments. There is also a General Maintenance Department which comprises the Brigade Workshop, the Transport and Fleet Management, Building Maintenance and Equipment Maintenance Sections.

The Fire Service in Jamaica was established in October 1871 with the formation of the Kingston Fire Brigade to satisfy the need for a trained and equipped Fire Service to be responsive to growth in housing, industrial and commercial developments in Kingston following a spate of large fires which had ravaged sections of the City’s commercial sectors. Operating from Sutton Street in downtown Kingston, the Brigade was then comprised of a horse-drawn steam pump and a small number of men under the command of a Scotsman – Alexander McFarlane. As the City grew, the need for wider fire coverage gave rise to the first sub-station, Half-Way-Tree, which opened in the late 1930s. In keeping pace with the developments a new Headquarters, York Park was opened in November 1944 housing at the time sixty-nine men, six firefighting vehicles and a utility car. Operating under the aegis of the Kingston and St. Andrew Fire Brigade (KSA) Act, the KSA Fire Brigade was primarily for “…the protection of life and property from the ravages of fire within the limits of the Corporate area …” The rural Parishes in the Island were not without their own defence against fire hazards and under the Parochial Fire Brigade Act twelve Parish Fire Brigades were established at various times in St. Catherine – 1933, St. Elizabeth – 1934, Portland – 1936, St. James – 1942, St. Mary – 1948, St. Ann – 1951, Trelawny and Hanover – 1957, St. Thomas, Clarendon and Manchester – 1958, and Westmoreland – 1961. These thirteen dis-joined Parish Brigades were all funded by Central Government but continued as fragmented parochial entities. It was always the perception in the post-independence years that for greater cost effectiveness, more efficient fire coverage, greater command and control, among other things, the fragmented Brigades should all be re-organised, unified and made answerable to one central command. Steps to bring about this unification were finally taken in October of 1988 with the passing of the Fire Brigade Act which repealed the Kingston and St. Andrew Fire Brigade Act and the Parochial Fire Brigade Act “….and established in and for (all) Jamaica a national Fire Service (thereafter) to be called the Jamaica Fire Brigade…” – one unified, national organization unfettered by parochial restrictions.

All prospective candidates must:
Be of Jamaican citizenship
Be between the ages of 18 to 28 years old
Be medically fit
Be the holder of academic certificates with minimum passes in:
– four (4) GCE ‘O’ Levels – Grades A – C or
– four (4) CXC subjects (General Proficiency) – Grades 1 – 3 or
– five (5) SSC subjects or equivalent.
(English Language and Mathematics are compulsory.)
Have adequate knowledge of Tree Removal Safety.

Note: Despite the required qualifications shown above, each applicant must pass a prescribed
Entrance Examination. The better the applicants academic standard is the better the chance of success in this Examination.

ENTRY TEST AND SCREENING

A written Entrance Examination covering Dictation, Mathematics, English Language, General Knowledge, Mental Ability Test, etc
A Physical Agility Test which includes a height requirement test
A comprehensive background check looking into past employment, character profile and criminal history/Police record.
A medical examination including blood test, vision test and drug screening
An interview

CONTACTING THE BRIGADE

The Recruiting Officer

BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS

Jamaica Fire Brigade

14 Port Royal Street, Kingston

Telephone:(876) 922-0007 or (876) 922-0027.
Fax:(876) 967-3594)