Fire stations first to fall in major earthquake

Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer

Head of the earthquake unit at the University of the West Indies, Dr Lyndon Brown, is warning that a number of fire stations throughout Kingston and St. Andrew could be among the first buildings to crumble in the event of a major earthquake.

Dr. Lyndon Brown, said this has been the finding of a recent study carried out in conjunction with two engineering students at the University of Technology.

He was speaking on the opening day of the Jamaica Institution of Engineers (JIE) conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel yesterday.

The UWI earthquake unit head has informed that the study was carried out on seven fire stations and a number of shortfalls were identified.

Among the issues highlighted were shortcomings in the structural and seismic resilience of fire stations, maintenance issues and overall design flaws.

Dr. Brown has identified the outdated building code as the main reason behind the structural vulnerability of these buildings.

He noted that at least one of the buildings examined dates back to 1944, while the most recently built was in 1985.

The head of the earthquake unit said the authorities should conduct a more detailed engineering assessment of all fire stations and other critical facilities, in order to better position the country for the impact of a major earthquake.

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