Today the Saint Lucia Fire Service says goodbye to the first fire officer to proceed on pre-retirement leave in 2015 to be followed by his official retirement. Mr. Julian Herelle joined the department in 1981during the time when fire officers worked a twenty four hour shift from 9 am to 9 am. The days of non-insulated fire boots and cloth overalls as firefighting gear with wooden kit boxes to serve the roll of personal lockers. He resigned in 1982 and was reinstated in September 1988. He was promoted to the rank of Leading Fireman (Lfm) in October 1999 and served at the rank of Subordinate Officer through a few acting appointments during his career. Mr. Herelle says he remained committed and dedicated to the profession throughout his more than 28 years of service to the people of Saint Lucia. He recalls how that dedication and commitment almost cost him his life after the passing of Tropical Storm Debbie in 1994. He was assigned the duty to proceed to the Anse La Raye/Canaries district (alone), due to man power shortages, to assist the villagers with clearing debris from the streets and cleaning up public buildings using the one portable pump assigned to the district along with the fire hoses which were kept at the Canaries Police Station, since there was not and still isnt a Fire Station, something that the residents have been asking, for a very long time now. He recalled leaving Fire Service Head Quarters in Castries at 0700 hrs. He returned at 1930 hrs, feeling accomplished but exhausted. However, the same condition (staff Shortage) which had him complete the duty alone, would once again test his commitment and dedication to the profession. The only portable pump for the district became defective during the assigned duties and Mr. Herelle returned it to Castries for repairs. The district could not however, be left without a portable pump as that was the only semblance of a Fire Station serving these two villages. What is worse is that this Fire Post as it used to be called, no longer exists. Mr. Herelle was asked whether he would take on the task of returning the portable pump to Canaries after the repairs, since the manpower situation was still the same. He obliged and found out the hard way that fatigue can be one of the contributing factors to injuries on the job. He dosed off while driving on his second return to Castries, the vehicle driven by him went off the road over a mini bridge and into a shallow ravine near Roseau Valley. He suffered injuries which included a fractured jawbone. When asked if given the opportunity to become a firefighter again, his response was certainly. In an era where seven (7) year old career firefighters in metropolitan countries are considered veterans, we in Saint Lucia are yet to hear the word used for heroes who serve 28 years running towards emergencies while civilians run in the opposite direction. The Saint Lucia Fire Service Association salutes Mr. Julian Herelle (Lfm # 326) for his dedicated and committed service to the Saint Lucia Fire Service and by extension the people of Saint Lucia. Bravo brother!!
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 01:34:04 +0000
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