Firefighters depart for Guantanamo Bay

Fifteen firefighters are to depart the island today to work at the United States Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The group comprises 13 men and two women.

The labour ministry said their employment at the naval station resulted from collaboration between the Ministry and the Human Resources Office at the Naval Base, where interest was expressed in recruiting Jamaican firefighters.

The ministry said it received more than 1,000 applications from firemen, after it placed newspaper advertisements and these were dispatched to Guantanamo Bay for processing.

It said a short-list of 38 candidates was later submitted to the ministry for initial interviews, which resulted in the selection of the final 15.

The ministry said a special US Navy plane will be transporting this first group of firefighters to the military base.

In the meantime, the ministry said it will continue to work with the Naval Base to meet on-going demand for workers in other areas.

There are about 1,000 Jamaicans living and working at the Guantanamo Bay base, which has a population of more than 7,000 military and non-military residents.

Like our new Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/gleanerjamaica

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/JamaicaGleaner

radio@gleanerjm.com