Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales is calling on the Fire Service to retract a statement in which it referred to a lack of water when dealing with yesterday’s fire at Farfan Street, Arima.

That blaze claimed the lives of Minister and MP Lisa Morris-Julian and two of her children.

The TTFS claims “Upon arrival, a request was made for additional water supply due to a lack of water in the area.”

In a statement, Mr Gonzales however insists that at no point during the incident was there a lack of water pressure or the availability of water in general.

Instead, he claims the Hollis system, which supplies water to Farfan Street, had been ramped up to full production just several days prior, on December 12th 2024.

He adds that WASA made several adjustments to the water supply pressure prior to the arrival of fire officers including:

• Around 4:30am, WASA was alerted to the fire, prompting immediate action to divert supply via the Subero Street Booster Station to increase the pressure in the Farfan Street area.
• Around 5:30am, another water source off the Guanapo Water Treatment Plant was used as an auxiliary supply via valving operations in the vicinity of Hearty Foods and Sorzano Street, to ensure an alternate supply could be introduced to the area if required.

Additionally, Minister Gonzales says when the Prime Minister arrived at the scene of the fire, he spoke to the Chief Fire Officer, who confirmed that an adequate water supply was available.

The statement went on to say, “The Minister of Public Utilities condemns the gross and unfortunate misrepresentation of the facts of this tragic incident and the added grief it has caused. The Minister further demands a retraction of the misleading communication by the Corporate Communications Department of the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Services.”