Fire fighters share breathing apparatus
• Breathing apparatus costs over P30 000 each
Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mabuse Pule says his Ministry is aware of isolated cases where firefighters share breathing apparatus during response times.
Pule, who is also a Member of Parliament for Mochudi East, got into a tussle with the Botswana Land Boards, Local Authorities, and Health Workers Union (BLLAHWU) last week after he told Parliament that due to its high potential of spreading disease, facemasks are never shared. He, however, said in response to Covid-19 and related hygiene issues, the breathing apparatuses which cost P30, 700 are disinfected after use. According to Pule, the Ministry has acquired a total of 209 breathing apparatus across the country. He appealed for private sector participation and intervention on matters relating to Fire
Services especially during this difficult period of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry, through local authorities, operates 20 fire stations and sub fire stations across the 15 local authorities with a total staff compliment of 1 318 and an annual budget of over P1.1 million for installation and maintenance of fire hydrants. According to Pule, North-East District Council is the only local authority without a fire station. The union complained that in the middle of trying times of the Covid-19 crisis, all fire stations across the country have a shortage of respiratory masks and are currently sharing them. The union had indicated that there is a shortage of other Personal Protective Equipment in fire stations, and their expectation was that the ministry would have been proactive in addressing the shortage.
Pule said his Ministry, through local authorities, continues to adhere to Covid-19 health protocols, including disinfection of equipment used by the response teams.
“All frontline workers in the Department of Fire Services adhere to strict Covid-19 health protocols of sanitising, social distancing, wearing of masks and frequent disinfection of their bunkers, as well as private and official vehicles to ensure that safety precautions are observed at all times”.
According to the Assistant Minister, the Ministry’s Strategy and Transformation Plan is anchored on six pillars, one of which provides for efficient services and municipal infrastructure at 16 local authorities.
“The Department of Fire Services remains a key component of municipal infrastructure, given that infrastructure development determines the size and destination of investment and tourism inflows at any given time, hence the need to cater for this Emergency Service,” Pule said.