By Shantelle Legall-Gibson on Thursday, 24 March, 2022 at 06:14 PM

The Barbados Fire Service (BFS) has started an initiative to tour all caves in Barbados to be more efficient in the event of rescue missions.

On Thursday, Chief Fire Officer, Errol Maynard was accompanied by Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) technical consultant Dr. John Mwanza, as they took 17 fire personnel on the first tour into Coles Cave.   

Speaking to the media while touring Coles Cave, Maynard underscored the need for the fire service to be familiar with caves and other terrains in Barbados.

“We recognize over the last couple of months that persons are in these caves, but we as a department really don't know the terrain and the outlay of these caves, if something happens, we still have to be the ones to go and rescue them.”

This initiative follows the rescue of 17-year-old Sheadon Padmore less than one month ago from the same cave being toured by fire personnel.

Maynard emphasized the importance of having knowledge of the caves, noting that being proactive will increase the chances of saving lives in the future.

"It is time that we get familiar with these caves to ensure that if something happens, we don't have to take an additional civilian in there to guide us, but we will already have an idea of what the caves and gullies look like….it is important that we be proactive in saving lives at the end of the day.”

The Chief Fire Officer assured the public that this would be a weekly project until all caves and terrains in Barbados have been toured.