BUJUMBURA May 9th (ABP) – The Ministry of the Interior, Community Development and Public Security through the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Disaster Management, celebrated, Friday, May 6, 2022 in Bujumbura, the International Day of Firefighters, under the theme: “Firefighters in safeguarding the national economy. »
In his word for the occasion, the permanent secretary at the ministry responsible for public security, Mr. André Ndayambaje, indicated that this theme comes at the right time in view of the economic losses recorded following the fires that have occurred in several places in the country. He cited fires that broke out in markets, in various public and private establishments, in homes and so on.
The Permanent Secretary clarified that the purpose of this day, celebrated for the first time in Burundi, is to encourage firefighters, raise awareness and mobilize the public to collaborate with them in the management of fires and rescue of people, while emphasizing that these firefighters are an essential link in the fight against fires to safeguard the national economy.
In an interview he gave to the press, the Director General of Civil Protection and Disaster Management, Mr. Nibaruta Anicet pointed out that firefighters need sufficient equipment to deal with fires, explaining that fires are placed among the major risks affecting the country.
He also pointed out that they need fire trucks which must be accompanied by an ambulance for the transport to the care structures of people injured during a fire but also tank trucks for water supply. He also stressed that this direction needs such a young dynamic staff because this job is difficult and presents many risks.
Mr. Nibaruta took that opportunity to recall the main causes of the fires, among others, short circuits, poor electrical installations, defective electrical equipment, pieces of abandoned cigarettes, irons and unextinguished candles.
For that, he called on those concerned to operationalize the national school of civil protection by the assignment each year of 100 police officers, all categories combined, the winners of the initial training provided in training structures of the national police of Burundi.
He also asked for the creation of three fire stations in the town hall of Bujumbura distributed in the three communes of the town hall, for the proper functioning of this profession as painful, he underlined.