AN exodus of firefighters has hit the Bulawayo City
Council (BCC) as they are joining other professionals
leaving the country in search of the so-called greener pastures.
Acting chief fire officer Linos Phiri said this in an
interview with New Ziana on the sidelines of a ceremony to handover refurbished
kitchens and dining room furniture to the Bulawayo Fire Brigade station in
Fomona suburbs by a local manufacturing company Treger Group.
Local insurer Old Mutual also chipped in and provided tiles
for the renovations. Treger Group was appreciating the swift reaction of the
city council fire and rescue services which averted a fire in 2021, which could
have engulfed property worth millions of dollars at its recycling plant at
The company also kept 10 000 litres of diesel at the plant,
but the fire brigade managed to douse the blaze in time, saving the property.
Phiri said brain drain has impacted negatively on the
operations of fire and rescue services across the country and Bulawayo has not
been spared.
He said despite some operational challenges, they recently
received some modern firefighting equipment from partners such as Operation
Florian from the United Kingdom but their main headache was brain drain.
“As an emergency service, we are equipped to deal with
eventualities in the city because we recently received some equipment from our
partners. The main challenge that we are currently experiencing is brain drain.
“We need two years to train a firefighter. We have so far
lost close to 30 qualified fire
fighters, and we went on to recruit 50 trainees whom we have at the moment,”
said Phiri.
Emergency service workers such as paramedics and
firefighters are reported to be earning a monthly salary of over US$3 000 in the Middle East.
Phiri said the current situation has forced them to rely on
the services of trainees who are also leaving soon after completing their
training.
Turning to ambulances, Phiri said they were currently
running a fleet of six for the whole city, against the recommended number of
15, adding that most of the times they are overstretched by demand.
He said they have also roped in the service of other
ambulance providers such as Mars and St Johns, to fill the vacuum, adding
council was also considering to construct satellite fire stations in Waterford
and Cowdray Park to cater for the ever-growing population in the city.
“International standards response time is supposed to be 10
minutes of receiving a distress call,” said Phiri, adding they were awaiting
the delivery of new fire tenders from Belarus after last receiving some from
the Government in 1987.
-New Ziana
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