THE question that has been hanging in the air ever since the fire on Bay Street last week is whether the country has enough resources to protect from such blazes.

The answers so far are not encouraging.

When asked yesterday by The Tribune, the Royal Bahamas Police Force press liaison said that the force currently has three functional fire trucks. Just three. For a fire of any significant magnitude, three would be nowhere near enough.

And yet the National Security Minister, Wayne Munroe, said he had no indication that firefighters lacked the necessary equipment to respond to a major blaze such as that on Bay Street.

That is not the defence he might think it is. If the country only has three functional fire trucks and he does not know that, then it shows a lack of awareness of a crisis situation. If he does know, then what is he going to do about it?

There certainly seems a plan to do something – the director of communications at the Office of the Prime Minister, Latrae Rahming, says 15-20 fire trucks are on the way.

Mr Munroe says the required equipment has been identified, but two plus two is not quite adding up to four here. How do you know what equipment to identify if you do not know what equipment is presently functional?

It should be noted too that it is less than a month since a major fire destroyed the Hyacinth Stuart Building on the East-West Highway, taking with it Solomon’s, Cost Right and the Department of Labour.

That too was a fire that needed significant resources to fight – and in which a number of firefighters were injured and an engine damaged. That would, one would have thought, have prompted an update on available resources.

It is good news that more resources will seemingly be on the way, it is worrying that if we are to take Mr Munroe’s words on the face of them that we do not know the state of our current resources.

Mr Munroe has said obtaining the new equipment could take time as vehicles must be custom-built – perhaps so but that would also be a case where detailed planning should play a part. We should not be reaching a stage with just a handful of engines to protect us, we should be ordering well in advance of that crisis point.

Then there are concerns about the buildings themselves in the Bay Street fire – after questions were raised over adequate fire escape procedures.

This is of course not the only fire being dealt with. Abaco is ablaze. It has been for a week. And that is just the latest fires – Abaco has suffered multiple fires in recent weeks.

Credit to Central and South Abaco MP John Pinder and local partners for securing an aircraft to drop water on the fires there to help out. He had been the target of frustration from locals for a perceived lack of response, so it is good that he has actively secured a helping hand.

The firefighters have a tough battle in Abaco. Some were being taken to clinics for oxygen treatment after being so close to the fire for so long.

We have been lucky that there have been no fatalities or serious injuries – and we must pray that continues to be the case.

And while we pray, we must get on with giving our firefighters what they need.