Fire Service Launches Carnival Crackdown on Businesses as Safety Fears Rise After Major Fires

With Carnival festivities ramping up across Saint Lucia, the Saint Lucia Fire Service (SLFS) has launched an aggressive island-wide enforcement drive targeting commercial and industrial buildings, warning that the excitement of the season must not come at the expense of public safety.

Operating under the Industrial and Commercial Buildings (Fire Safety) Act, fire inspectors have begun visiting businesses across Castries to ensure they are complying with fire safety regulations, with authorities expressing concern that the busy Carnival period can lead to dangerous lapses in workplace vigilance.

Fire Prevention Officer Dwane Ferdinand said the increased activity associated with Carnival often causes businesses to overlook critical safety measures.

“Especially as we approach the carnival season, there are lots of activities happening around the place and guards will be down to a certain extent. So, we want to ensure that things are in place to mitigate the possibility of fires that are unwanted,” Ferdinand explained.

Inspectors are focusing on emergency exits, storage practices, electrical hazards and other conditions that could increase the risk of a fire.

“We are concerned about egress arrangements, storage practices, and conditions that would pose a safety risk. So we will basically be looking into things like electrical hazards,” he added.

A major part of the enforcement exercise also involves ensuring that businesses possess valid Fire Safety Certificates, which are legally required for commercial and industrial properties and must be renewed every two years.

Assistant Divisional Officer in the Fire Prevention and Investigation Department, Owen Cazaubon, said the renewal process ensures businesses routinely assess their emergency exits, firefighting equipment and alarm systems, helping to improve preparedness even though no system can completely eliminate the risk of fire.

He reminded business owners that Saint Lucia has paid a heavy price for devastating fires in the past and warned that those lessons cannot be ignored.

“We have had historical fires. We have had the 1948 fire which was on June 19th. We’ve had the Adjodha Building which happened around November 21st 2019. We’ve also had the Computer World building which happened just recently, March 6th. So, we have lessons we have to learn from those fires,” Cazaubon said.

While some businesses may have been caught off guard by the recent inspections, the Fire Service stressed that affected establishments were notified in advance and that fire safety inspections are not limited to Carnival.

“Continually we have been conducting fire safety inspections,” Cazaubon said.

The SLFS is urging all business owners to use the Carnival season as a reminder—not a distraction—to review their fire safety measures, warning that preparedness remains the best defence against preventable disasters.

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