No arrests so far

The police have so far made no arrests relating to the two fire incidents recorded earlier this week in north Mahé.

According to a police spokesman, the investigation is in its initial stage and a senior officer has been mandated to work on the case.

The first fire was in the Beau Vallon Parti Lepep office on Tuesday evening and the other in the Anse Etoile district administration office in the early hours of Wednesday.

According to Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) public relations officer Jones Madeleine, they were informed of the Beau Vallon fire at 10.14 on Tuesday night.

He said when they arrived at the scene the door of the office had already been broken down and the fire was burning in seven different parts of the office – on the furniture like chairs and sofas.

The Seychelles Fire Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) was called to deal with two fire incidents within the space of two hours in north Mahé.

One was in the Beau Vallon Parti Lepep office on Tuesday evening and the other in the Anse Etoile district administration office in the early hours of yesterday.

Because of its prompt arrival on site, the SFRSA was able to prevent further damage to both buildings.

According to SFRSA spokesperson Jones Madeleine, the Beau Vallon office could have been burned down completely as it is almost entirely made of wood.

He noted that the pattern of both fires are the same and a substance smelling like kerosene (petrol) has also been used at both venues.

The SFRSA suspects arson in both incidents and the cases have been lodged with the police for investigation.

“We were informed of the Beau Vallon fire at 10.14 on Tuesday night. When we arrived fire was burning in seven different parts of the office – on the furniture like chairs and sofas, which means the person responsible had lit a fire in different seats inside the office. The door also was already broken down when we reached there,” said Mr Madeleine.

The number of building and house fires in which the fire services had had to intervene increased by 15 last year, although the total number of emergency calls it received decreased by 62.

These figures have been revealed in the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) statistical breakdown for last year.

The SFRSA spokesperson Jones Madeleine said on Monday that this year the agency’s priority is to intensify its fire awareness prevention and education campaign to include more workplace education.

It is also planning to increase training for SFRSA officers and also to review its strategic plan.

Compared to 2014 where the SFRSA was called in to intervene in 22 fires in buildings and houses, in 2015 its help was required in 37 such incidents.

“This shows that we need to remain alert and vigilant with regard to the type of precaution that we take and the SFRSA should continue with and step up its fire precaution and awareness campaign,” Mr Madeleine said.

SPA donates smoke detector alarms to its employees

As part of its employee welfare initiatives, the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) in collaboration with the Fire and Rescue Services Agency (FRSA), recently organised a session for its staff on fire prevention.

President James Michel opened the new Praslin Fire Station on the reclaimed land of Eve Island on Praslin this morning.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport, Mr. Joel Morgan, the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Charles Bastienne, the Minister for Health, Mrs. Mitcy Larue and the Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship Development & Business Innovation, Mr. Michael Benstrong, the Chief Fire Officer of Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency, Mr. Andre Morel, officers of the agency as well as dignitaries and community members from Praslin.

Twenty-two new recruits of the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) graduated in a passing out ceremony yesterday while seven fire officers from the airport fire service were promoted.

This was during a ceremony at the SFRSA headquarters at New Port in the presence of Home Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne. Also present were chief fire officers Andre Morel of the SFRSA and Bernard Henriette of the airport fire service unit among other high officials and firefighters.

The event formed part of activities organised to commemorate the International Firefighters’ Day celebrated on May 4.

During the six-month training, the newly-graduated firefighters learned how to prepare themselves for any fire incident. Roddy Jean Charles came out the best overall performer while Effendi Prosper clinched the best academic performer award.

As for the airport fire service officers, there were promotions from the ranks of fire officer to station officer, leading firefighter to sub officer, and firefighter level II to leading firefighter.