Montserrado County’s district#4 Representative, Michael Thomas, has recommended to the plenary of the House of Representatives for budgetary allocation for Paynesville City to purchase a fire truck. Representative Thomas said, due to the constant outbreak of fire disaster in recent time, several persons have lost properties because of the absence of fire trucks in Paynesville.
The district#4 lawmaker made the plead on Thursday, February 15, 2024 during regular session of the House of Representatives through a communication addressed to the Speaker.
According to the House’s Committee Chair on Judiciary, his communication is a result of the recent fire outbreak across the country, especially in the city of Paynesville, that has caused unbearable setbacks to citizens.
He told his colleagues that the Municipal City of Paynesville of recent has witnessed several instances of fire within a space of 30 days, destroying the homes of residents in district #4 and other districts, with specific reference to the incident that occurred at the residence of Senator Saah H. Joseph.
He explained that the lack of fire trucks impeded the delivery of fire service during the unexpected incident, that nearly took the senator’s life.
“Honorable Speaker, Honorable Deputy Speaker and distinguished colleagues, the City of Paynesville has five electoral districts that are densely populated with over 450,000 persons who are living in structures with high volatility to fire outbreak. As we are aware, the Municipal city of Paynesville does not have a single fire truck to boast of, thus leaving the city vulnerable during any fire outbreak as the National Fire and Rescue Service (LNFRS) has to dispatch its fire truck from as far as Ashmun Street, Monrovia. Such trucks only arrive after substantial damage to life and property has occurred.”
Representative Thomas therefore said he craves the indulgence of plenary to kindly consider budgetary allocation in the 2024 pending budget, under the Paynesville City budget, for the procurement of a fire truck for the people of Paynesville in an effort to minimize the unprecedented death and material loss the people of Paynesville have encountered over the past months.
After the reading of the communication, a motion was made to send the communication to the Ways, Means and Finance Committee.