WESTERN BUREAU — The Trelawny Parish Council is today expected to receive the almost $100,000 owing to it by the Jamaica Fire Brigade for the rental of a cottage in Falmouth, which is being used to house firefighters.

“I have the cheque right here for $90,000 and I will be travelling down to Falmouth tomorrow (today) to pay them,” assistant commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Rudolph Sommerville, told the Observer yesterday.

Last month the parish council threatened to evict the firefighters assigned to the Falmouth Fire Department from its property adjoining the Trelawny Infirmary if outstanding rent was not paid.

The council noted that since it entered into a lease agreement with the brigade in April for the rental of the property, it had only collected one month’s rent.

The property is rented for $15,000 monthly.

Sommerville added, however, that the almost $60,000 which the local authority said is owing for utilities would not be paid today as the brigade is disputing the figure.

“We don’t believe that the amount is correct so we will have to investigate it before we can settle…,” Sommerville said.

Since early this year, the Falmouth Fire Department has been faced with the problem of finding suitable and affordable accommodation, after its more than 30 firefighters refused to work from their decrepit fire station.

In February, after the firemen demonstrated and vowed not to work from the broken down facility, they were moved to the Falmouth Resort Hotel at a cost of more than $40,000 a week. The single fire unit was also moved to that facility.

Weeks later the firefighters were re-located to the cottage on the lands adjoining the Trelawny Infirmary.

But yesterday, Sommerville said that the firemen were not comfortable at the existing.

“The firemen are restive because the condition at the cottage is not suitable,” he told the Observer.

He said the fire brigade was looking for another location to house the firefighters.