Thousands descend on York Park station with hopes of being recruited into brigade

A massive gathering at the York Park Fire Station reflected the state of the economy as thousands of men and women lined Orange Street, downtown Kingston, yesterday in response to a recruitment advertisement placed in The Gleaner.

Seeking only 100 recruits, the fire brigade received an overwhelming response. Parked cars lined the street far from the station itself and vendors swooped down on the crowd, selling water and snacks to those waiting. Though 21-year-old Michael Anderson had travelled from Spanish Town, St Catherine, and had been waiting since five in the morning to take the recruitment exam, he was still far back in the line. Some recruit hopefuls grew frustrated on seeing the crowd and left the compound.

The respondents came from all across Jamaica. One man had travelled from St Catherine with his two sons, and stood leaning against a wall, watching them.

"I had a warm time getting in this morning. Mandela Highway was blocked up and round by Half-Way Tree was not pretty at all," he said ruefully. At 10 a.m., his sons had been waiting most of the morning.

"Probably we will be waiting three-quarter of the day, as well," he said.

Looking despaired as he surveyed the scene, the man added, "Must be hundreds of people here."

Emelio Ebanks, public relations officer for the Jamaica Fire Brigade, told The Gleaner that approximately 3,000 people turned up in hopes of being recruited yesterday. The drive will continue at York Park tomorrow and at the Madge Saunders Conference Centre in Tower Island, St Mary, on June 22 and June 23.

Employment prospects have been dim in recent times, with more than 14,500 workers being made redundant in the last year. More than 5,000 of these since January alone.

The staff members of the station, who were in charge of reviewing the potential candidates, wore flu masks and looked harried as they tried to organise the crowd into lines, tacking yellow warning tape from wall to wall in order to separate the group into sections, and process as many of the hopefuls as possible.

Despite the chaos, some still managed to be optimistic.

"I'm still hopeful about getting the job because I know I can pass the test. I just hope they take me on," said one potential recruit.