The Government and people of Anguilla are to receive a gift of a US$500,000 operational Fire Service vehicle from the Government of Bermuda, showing how there can be a spirit of cooperation and assistance between one Overseas Territory and another in times of need.

Mr. Baird being presented with the keys for the fire truck in Bermuda

Anguilla’s Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Social Development, the Hon. Edison Baird, was presented with the keys for the vehicle during his recent visit to the Atlantic Ocean British Overseas Territory to attend a preliminary meeting of the Overseas Territories Consultative Council meeting.
The story, reported in the Bermuda press, stated that in addition to the safety benefits, the gift of the fire truck would greatly assist Anguilla’s airport logistics especially when the one vehicle there has to be in service at another location.

The keys for the vehicle were presented to Mr. Baird at the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters on King Street in Hamilton on June 4, when he spoke of the appreciation of the Government and people of Anguilla for the gift.

Mr. Baird was quoted as saying that Anguilla only had one working fire truck to be kept stationed at Wallblake Airport. In cases when the vehicle had to leave the airport to deal with a fire, the airport regulations mandated that controllers there should stop receiving or dispatching aircraft.
The story noted that while Anguilla was some fifty percent bigger than Bermuda, but with a much smaller population, Bermuda’s Gross Domestic Product was approximately ten times higher.

A similar vehicle to the one for Anguilla (photos courtesy Bernews.com)

Mr. Baird told The Anguillian this week that it was now “just a question of working out the logistics of getting the fire truck to Anguilla. They [the Bermuda Government] said they are prepared to help us as much as they could. When the fire truck comes, they will also be providing me with a hat and a truck shirt and I have to take a photo and send it to them.”

The Minister said that the vehicle shown in the photograph accompanying this article, was identical to the one Anguilla would be receiving, the only difference being the age of the fire truck.
Asked about the background to the donation, Mr. Baird stated: “Apparently, negotiations for the truck had started with the previous Chief Minister (Hon. Osbourne Fleming). According to the Premier of Bermuda, he said that the previous Chief Minister had contacted him about providing Anguilla with a fire truck. Since we came to power we had followed up on it.

“I am making the point that we are not here to destroy anything and we are prepared to ‘give Jack is jacket’. We are not saying that we initiated it at all. It was initiated by the former Chief Minister and we followed up on it. We thank the former Chief Minister for doing that. When the fire truck comes I will be inviting the former Chief Minister to come to the ceremony. A man must get his due. We only take credit for following it up.”

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