Government leaders continue to support, honour and celebrate the emergency services personnel that responded to the fuel tank fire incident on Sunday, 23 July 2017.

Appreciation ceremonies were held at the Cayman Islands Fire Service (CIFS) headquarters on Friday, 28 July 2017 and at the Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC) on Wednesday, 2 August 2017 to thank the fire officers and dispatchers for their sacrifice and service.

Deputy Governor and Head of the Civil Service, Hon. Franz Manderson; Minister for Home Affairs, Hon. Tara Rivers; as well as Councillors Austin Harris,  David Wight and Barbara Conolly all attended the ceremony.

“I want to thank our first responders for their bravery and resilience,” Mr. Manderson said. “They are a group of dedicated men and women who put their lives in harm’s way on a daily basis, in order to keep us safe.”

On the night of the incident more than 40 fire officers responded to the scene and 6 dispatchers gathered at DPSC. Among those first responders were many who were not on shift or on call that night.

During the ceremonies each officer and dispatcher received a certificate thanking them for their invaluable efforts.

“The Cayman Islands should be proud of the efforts of all of our emergency services teams,” Minister Rivers notes. “Each performed in a highly commendable manner that is worthy of the recognition that they are receiving. As dispatchers alerted all emergency services personnel to the situation and answered distress calls from the public, fire officers fought tirelessly to get the fire under control, and our police officers worked to evacuate residents and divert vehicles approaching the danger.”

“We are extremely proud of all efforts made that night, and it brings me great honour to recognise their bravery today, and every day,” the Minister concluded.

DPSC Dispatchers Recognised:

Jason Weeks

Apollinia Lavia

Tiffani Barbour

Chelsea Blake

Victoria Parker (not pictured)

 Margaret Dixon (not pictured)

PHOTOS BY: JAMIE HICKS, GIS

Photo Captions:

(Individual photos of each fire officer & dispatcher receiving their certificate can be found on our Cayman Islands Government Facebook page)

(Below are photo captions for two photos…the rest of the captions are the photo’s title. thank you!)

Government Leaders During CIFS Ceremony: Deputy Governor & Head of the Civil Service, Hon. Franz Manderson; Minister for Home Affairs, Hon. Tara Rivers; Councillor for Education Barbara Conolly; Councillor for Human Resources, Immigration & Community Affairs Austin Harris & Councillor for Sports and Transport David Wight

Government Leaders During DPSC Ceremony: Deputy Governor & Head of the Civil Service, Hon. Franz Manderson; Minister for Home Affairs, Hon. Tara Rivers & Department of Public Safety Communications, Director Julian Lewis