Columbus Mabika — Local authorities must be able to respond to all serious fires in their jurisdictions in order to save lives, infrastructure and equipment and the Government will make sure that they are ready to do this, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe, said yesterday as he opened the training course on the new Belarus fire tenders.
The training of trainers starts with firefighters from the Harare and Bulawayo Fire Brigades on the operation and maintenance of the Red Lion tenders acquired from Belarus.
The firefighters will be receiving training for the next three weeks from technicians from the Belarus Ministry of Disaster and Emergency Situations.
The Government is continuously investing in modern equipment and systems for engaging in a spectrum of activities involving timely early warning, preparedness, prevention, disaster mitigation, response, recovery and rehabilitation. Besides the existing risks, fires are likely to become more common with global warming and the drier vegetation from more frequent droughts.
Zimbabwe has acquired 131 fire tenders under the bilateral agreement with Belarus, with 114 already delivered and 47 already allocated to urban local authorities whose personnel received training last year.
Minister Garwe said given that fire is one of the potential hazards in any locality, equipment and trained personnel are an integral part of disaster management.
"This is why Government and local authorities are investing time and resources in the acquisition of state-of-the-art fire-fighting equipment as well as training operators, mechanics and drivers of fire trucks," he said.
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"You will agree with me that proper disaster risk reduction is a function of state-of-the-art equipment in the hands of trained personnel. This training is thus one way aimed at enhancing fire response services in all local authorities."
Backing the upgrade of coping better with fire risks, the Government is developing a digital multi-hazard early warning and early action system at the National Disaster Management Centre in Harare.
Minister Garwe said statistics of fires provided by the Environmental Management Agency in recent seasons were alarming.
"Since the beginning of the fire restriction period which ran from 31 July to 30 November 2022, a total of 3 141 fires destroying 804 588,09 hectares were recorded in the country. Cases in point included 10 people who died at a farm in Umzingwane trying to extinguish fire using rudimentary methods, 45 hectares of unharvested winter wheat and 28 houses were burnt in Zvimba. At Chindunduma High School a dining hall was destroyed by fire," he said.
Civil Protection Department chief director Mr Nathan Nkomo said the Government had taken a holistic approach to address fire disasters throughout the country.
"This initiative will ensure full coverage of all provinces and districts in terms of fire response services since all local authorities, both rural and urban, are getting at least one fire tender each," he said.
Belarusian Ambassador Igor Marshalov his Government remained committed to expanding areas of mutual cooperation in various sectors of the economy with Zimbabwe.
