BUJUMBURA May 8th (ABP) – Burundi celebrated Thursday, May 4, at the Kamenge Secondary Technical School (ETS) stadium, the international day dedicated to firefighters, under the theme “professional firefighters, pillar of sustainable development.
In his speech, the representative of the Minister of the Interior, Community Development and Public Security, André Ndayambaje, indicated that this day is celebrated with the aim of paying tribute to the unfortunate event that occurred on January 4, 1999 in Australia, which took the lives of 5 firefighters in action against a forest fire, and which enlightened people on the complexity of the job of firefighters. This incident is at the origin of the “international day of firefighters”, also called “Saint Florian”.
He said that the celebration of this international day is a strong moment for all firefighters, not only to honor the memory of the firefighters who died in the middle of a rescue action, but also to recognize the sacrifices made by firefighters to save lives.
Mr. Ndayambaje finally declared that on Wednesday of the 2nd week of each month, there will be “a civil protection open day” to give the people basic knowledge in fire protection.
For his part, the director general of civil protection and disaster management Nibaruta Anicet, said that for this year, Burundi is celebrating the international day of firefighters in a context particularly marked by the insufficiency of equipment and adequate relief equipment as well as dynamic and qualified human resources.
He therefore asked the government to support them in the operationalization of the disaster risk reduction fund, the operationalization of the national school of civil protection as well as the development of the national disaster risk reduction policy.