of the Bermuda Fire Service Association said yesterday.

The Bermuda Fire Service's mutual aid agreement with the US Navy lapsed on June 1, and there is now "no-one to rely on'' in the event of an east end fire outside the town limits of St. George's, Mr. Randolph Lowe told The Royal Gazette .

The Fire Service will have to respond from Hamilton, which will take "at least some 20 minutes'', Mr. Lowe said.

"It's going to take some sort of disaster before someone does something,'' Mr. Lowe said. "The residents of St. David's and St. George's pay the same taxes that everybody else pays, and should be screaming to the politicians down there that they want something done.'' The East End is a particular concern because of the millions of gallons of highly-flammable and explosive fuel stored in tanks in Ferry Reach owned by Esso and Shell.

Mr. Lowe said the St. George's volunteer fire department is confined to the town limits, and its ranks have been recently depleted because several of its volunteers have joined Serco Aviation Services Inc. -- the Canadian contractor that has replaced the Navy in providing crash/fire/rescue service at the Airport.

Serco cannot help, because it still has its hands full with its new Airport duties, he said.

And the St. George's department is "reluctant to sign a mutual aid agreement with us'', because "they can't guarantee'' they would be able to provide the needed protection, Mr. Lowe said.

"It's just a matter of time before something serious happens in the East End.'' The 70-member firefighters' association is "definitely very, very concerned about that, as is the management of the Fire Service'', he said.

"It seems to be a political football.'' He felt the BFS should be serving the entire Island, with a response time of eight to ten minutes for any point in Bermuda, but "no-one wants to make the correct decision.'' Chief Fire Officer Mr. Reg Rawlins, could not be reached for comment. The responsible Cabinet Minister, Delegated Affairs Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman, was off the Island in Geneva.

Officials still in Bermuda gave unclear and sometimes contradictory information about the state of East End fire protection.

A report by Management Services on revamping East End fire services was still being studied by Government, a spokesman said.

Mr. Keith Hollis, general manager of Esso Bermuda, said he understood that Serco had agreed to provide back-up protection to the oil docks, just as the US Navy has done in the past.

Serco project manager Mr. Richard Savard could not confirm that.

"There is a letter of agreement that's being worked on with the Bermuda Fire Service,'' for Serco to provide services like "early reconnaissance of an alarm,'' when it is the first to arrive on site, he said.

But "our responsibility is crash/fire/rescue at the Airport''.

Mr. Hollis said he also understood that Government was studying a proposal under which the St. George's volunteers -- who are expecting a new fire truck at the end of this month -- would extend its coverage outside the Town.

But Mr. Gary Renaud, chief of the St. George's volunteers, said nothing was resolved.

"The only thing I can tell you is yes, we have been asked to respond outside the area on a mutual aid basis,'' Mr. Renaud said.

But, "the process is still going on''.

Mr. Renaud did say that it was a misconception that his department was confined to the town limits.

"We would go anywhere that we're required,'' he said. "That's the easiest way to put it.'' Asked who would have responsibility for first response to the Esso or Shell oil docks, Mr. Renaud referred The Royal Gazette to Mr. Rawlins.

"There's not a problem between the two departments,'' but "there are a number of things going on at the momemt that I'm not at liberty to divulge,'' he said.

Mr. Lowe said the BFS in Hamilton would be responsible for first reponse to the oil docks, where Esso and Shell have recently beefed up their own fire protection.

A Government spokesman yesterday said the US Navy would still use its trucks to respond to the St. George's area until the final pull-out set for September 1, but Base Commanding Officer Capt. Tim Bryan said that was not true.

"I have structural firefighting...at least until the first of August,'' and possibly as late as August 15, Capt. Bryan said.