After fire destroyed a 90-foot yacht this month near Virgin Gorda, government responded forcefully to prevent a similar disaster in the future.
“This week we purchased a large plastic bucket for the Fire and Rescue Service,” Communications and Works Minister Mark Vanterpool announced proudly during a handover ceremony Monday at the Road Town Fire Station. “They asked for a fire boat, but we went one step further.”
The cutting-edge container will allow any firefighter to respond singlehandedly to a marine blaze.
“This bucket provides much more flexibility than any vessel,” a fire officer explained during the ceremony, adding that firefighters who have received swimming training in recent years will be well positioned to use the new equipment. “They’ll simply hold the state-of-the-art handle between their teeth and swim out to the fire. Then they’ll tread water while they fill the bucket and fling seawater on the flames.”
‘Homer Bucket’
The bucket was chosen by a team of foreign consultants that government hired to source the best equipment money could buy. Their research led them to the Home Depot-brand five-gallon “Homer Bucket.”
“The Homer Bucket is among the most well respected buckets in the world,” Mr. Vanterpool said. “It is a best-seller in the United States for a reason: There are very, very few instances of these containers developing leaks, even after years of regular use.”
During the handover ceremony, FRS officers praised the government for providing the necessary support to fight marine fires.
“This step will revolutionise firefighting in the Virgin Islands,” said a senior member of the department as he held up the bucket, which was adorned with a large red bow. “Thank you, government!”
Investment
Though the $3.42 investment was a major challenge for the cash-strapped government, Mr. Vanterpool said that no expenditure is too large when it comes to ensuring the safety of the territory’s many boaters.
“Our residents and tourists alike spend countless hours on the sea, including thousands of yachters who visit every year,” the minister said. “It would be inexcusable if we didn’t have the means to protect them.”
He added that the measure also supports government’s ongoing efforts to attract megayachts that can be worth several million dollars.
“If we can’t protect these boats, they’ll go elsewhere,” he said. “So we’re taking this very seriously.”
Well respected
Besides carrying water, the new Homer Bucket also has other uses. For instance, it can serve as a flotation device for a firefighter who tires while swimming to the scene of an incident.
“Its durable construction also means that it can be worn as a helmet,” Mr. Vanterpool added, rapping on the bottom of the container with his knuckles.
Meanwhile, the bucket has been good for the department’s morale. It is decorated with an illustration of “Homer D. Poe” — Home Depot’s cartoon mascot, who is an expert in do-it-yourself projects.
“We’re very much a DIY fire department these days considering how much our funding has been cut,” the fire officer said. “So the bucket is now displayed in a place of prominence on a high shelf above the fire trucks, and Homer serves as inspiration for us all.”
Other buckets
If the bucket proves as useful as expected in fighting marine fires, the department is hoping government might provide similar equipment for East End and Cappoons Bay, where satellite fire stations have been shut down in recent years because of a lack of funding.
“We’re hoping that a Homer Bucket can be hung outside each abandoned station so that residents will have a way to put out any fires themselves,” the fire officer explained. “But we recognise that such major expenditures can’t happen overnight, and we respect that.”
The outside-the-box solution was widely hailed as a landmark in firefighting.
“Several other Caribbean countries are also considering purchasing Homer Buckets now,” the fire officer said. “So we may have started a trend.”
Disclaimer: Dateline: Paradise is a column and occasionally contains satirical “news” articles that are entirely fictional.
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