The National Fire Authority (NFA) received seven fire trucks from the Minister for Local Government, Housing, Environment, Infrastructure and Transport Honourable Parveen Kumar Bala during a handing over ceremony at the NFA Head Quarters in Suva today.

The seven fire trucks were purchased from the Country Fire Authority of Victoria, Australia following the Government’s $400,000 grant allocations to the NFA for the purchase of second hand fire trucks to adequately resource the 17 Fire Stations around the country and $200,000 for the purchase of specialized equipment.

During his speech at the handing over ceremony, Honourable Bala said that he was happy to hand over the seven fire trucks to the NFA.

“The acquisition of the seven fire trucks will enhance the NFA’s responsiveness to any emergency with a boost in the vehicle capacity in all its Fire Stations.

Along with the fire trucks, CFA has donated protective firefighting equipment involving two sets of Lukas Hydraulic Rescue Kits for road accident rescue operations and protective gear in the form of fire boots, safety boots, overalls, firefighting gloves and safety goggles.

“These fire trucks and specialized equipment will enhance NFA’s service delivery to the people and communities of this country as we journey to build our nation in becoming more resilient towards fire disasters and emergencies,”Honourable Bala said.

The Minister also acknowledges the NFA for working hard with the National Disaster Council during and after Tropical Cyclone Winston.

“I thank you all and your families for your support to this call of National Duty as we assist our fellow citizens across the country to recover from the effects of TC Winston,”Honourable Bala said.

“The learning from the devastating effects of TC Winston brings to the forefront the vital role of the NFA and the need to enhance capacity and capability for our essential services to effectively respond during times of national emergencies,”Honourable Bala added. The seven fire trucks will each be assigned to the Fire Stations in Labasa, Savusavu, Seaqaqa, Rakiraki, Levuka, Nausori and Valelevu.