Engineers Without Borders / Puget Sound Professional Chapter

Click here to find out about the November 2008 site assessment trip to Jamaica!

Lucea

The Need

Lucea, home for over 10,000 Jamaicans, relies on a single firehouse for all its emergency response needs. As the population increases the pressure to offer emergency services to everyone has driven operational costs to never before seen levels. In addition, skyrocketing oil prices have made cuts in some services mandatory. A major portion of this cost is the diesel fuel used in its emergency vehicles.

The EWB-USA Response

Assessment

By supplementing and or supplanting its diesel consumption with island friendly bio-diesel manufactured from waste vegetable oil (WVO), we hope to alleviate the need to cut services in order to save money. The simple process of tranesterfication of WVO from Jamaica’s vibrant tourist industry will make the Jamaican emergency response teams more able to assist its people.

What we are doing

EWB Puget Sound (Seattle) Professional chapter volunteers in conjunction with Imperium Renewables Inc. are currently designing an appropriate technology bio-diesel processor that can be constructed and used in and by the people of Jamaica. Using an existing relationship with the Lucea Fire Department we will construct and train the firemen on how to reduce their dependence on foreign oil and utilize an existing resource to augment their community’s emergency preparedness.

To learn more

To learn more about this project, contact James Burke at:
Email: burkej [at] bsd405 [dot] org