Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]
THE Bulawayo City Council is considering bonding its newly trained firefighters to curb the loss of skilled manpower to neighbouring countries, which has over the years crippled the city’s emergency services.
The local authority trains more than 100 firefighters annually but a number of them leave which affects service delivery in the long run.
The council says the Fire Brigade unit is facing brain-drain challenges, which has seen the local authority lose young fire-fighters, officers and fire engine drivers.
The development has made it difficult to close some of the gaps and cripples service efficiency, especially since it leaves the personnel with less experience in practical firefighting.
In an interview on Monday, acting chief fire officer Mr Mhlangano Moyo said the city was producing the most sought-after firefighters under its partnership with Operation Florian, a United Kingdom-based charity organisation that has helped fighters with technical expertise.
The organisation brings in experts annually to train firefighters in Bulawayo and also ensures Bulawayo has state of art emergency equipment including fire tenders.
According to the council, most firefighters were leaving for Asian destinations like Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, as well as joining local private companies that pay in foreign currency.
“The partnership we have with Operation Florian has seen us produce the best firefighters in terms of technical expertise but sadly these are always snatched away from us by Asian countries,” said Mr Moyo.
“Although those who go have come back to help the local authority, we intend to bond them after qualification so that they can serve first before leaving.
“We plan to bond them for about three to five years so that we benefit also from their technical expertise. We are also working towards expanding our services to Cowdray Park, which has about 25 000 housing units.”
Mr Moyo said ideally Fire and Ambulances Department response time was to be within 10 minutes but with Cowdray Park, it was difficult as the area relies on the Nketa station.
“If everything goes well, we should set up a satellite station in Cowdray Park by early next year so our residents on that side also have access to timeous emergency services,” he said.
Bulawayo has recently been having a sharp increase in fire incidents with 10 fire calls daily, which has been taking a toll on the firefighting equipment.
Only four water tenders are operational against an ideal fleet of 15 that is needed to effectively manage fire outbreaks.
The 15 water tenders are supposed to be distributed to each of the council’s four stations with the Famona getting nine while North End, Nketa and Nkulumane stations should each have two, according to the council.
Online Reporter