The Federal Republic of Germany’s Embassy has donated a fire alarm system to the Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) for its Beechwood Avenue, St Andrew offices. The system is valued at over $2 million.
Deborah Chen, the Executive Director of HFJ, expressed gratitude to His Excellency Jan Hendrik van Thiel, the German Ambassador to Jamaica, for the embassy’s kindness during the recent handover ceremony.
Chen noted that the foundation has expanded in the 53 years since it was founded, and it was wise for the organization to make some renovations to the building at 28 Beechwood Avenue in order to make it functional.
The executive director made the point that protecting the clients’ and employees’ safety was a top priority when retrofitting the building.
“Even though we had some systems in place over the years, we weren’t fully equipped to handle a fire emergency, so we are extremely appreciative of the German Embassy for helping us take the first step toward getting the system,” she said.
The German ambassador, for his part, pointed out that the embassy and the HFJ had previously established a joint venture project to renovate the Above Rocks Health Centre in St Andrew.
He said that the embassy felt it prudent to offer support in this area because it is crucial for the safety of the HFJ staff and patients.
“The Fire Brigade is very good at what they do, but they are only able to do it when they receive an alert promptly. Therefore, everyone will feel safer and their job at JFB will be easier the better the system is. The ambassador stated, “It was a nice project, and we are really happy to join hands and help you in this respect.”
He said that because this is so important for the patients’ and employees’ safety at HFJ, the embassy thought it prudent to provide assistance in this area.
“The Fire Brigade is excellent at what they do, but only when they get an alert quickly can they carry it out. Therefore, the better the system is, the safer everyone will feel and the easier their jobs at JFB will be. The diplomat said, “It was a nice project, and we are really happy to join hands and help you in this respect.”
A non-profit, non-governmental organization called the Heart Foundation of Jamaica offers both basic and advanced cardiac disease screening.
