Government set to purchase 2 fire tenders

Deputy minister for Home Affairs Hamad Yusuf Masauni (second right) listens to information on call center from Ilala Fire and Rescue Force Commander Ully Mburoko when he visited the Fire and Rescue Brigade headquarters in Dar es Salaam yesterday, accompanied by Road Safety Ambassadors (RSA). Center is Chief Traffic Police Commander Mohamed Mpinga. PHOTO | SALIM SHAO

What you need to know:

  • Deputy Home Affairs minister Hamad Masauni said this yesterday when he visited the Fire and Rescue Brigade headquarters in Dar es Salaam. He was accompanied by Road Safety Ambassadors (RSA).
  • Mr Masauni said the government was aware of the challenges facing the department and that it was committed to solve them in phases as it was not capable of addressing all challenges at once.

Dar es Salaam. The government will in this financial year purchase two fire tenders in its efforts to improve efficiency in the Fire and Rescue Department.

Deputy Home Affairs minister Hamad Masauni said this yesterday when he visited the Fire and Rescue Brigade headquarters in Dar es Salaam. He was accompanied by Road Safety Ambassadors (RSA).

Mr Masauni said the government was aware of the challenges facing the department and that it was committed to solve them in phases as it was not capable of addressing all challenges at once.

He said the two fire tenders and a new fire department to be constructed in Tazara will be of great help.

“I would like to tell the fire and rescue team to effectively use the scarce available and create awareness to the public on fire outbreak preventive measures,” he said.

Speaking at the event, the Fire Brigade Commissioner General, Inspector Thobias Andengenye, said his department had only two working fire tenders. He noted that four others were dysfunctional.

According to him, shortage of fire tenders was one among numerous challenges the department is facing in its rescue operations.

He listed other challenges as lack of rescuing equipment like ambulances.

“But we have always been striving to do what we can with the available resources. Sometimes we have been using our zonal and regional fire tenders for dealing with major fire breakdowns.

The fire brigade boss added that they were in a dialogue with the Police Force to see to it how they could use some of its riot vehicles for rescue operations.

The RSA national coordinator, Mr Augustus Fungo, ealier decried contractors who set up buildings without complying with fire control and safety regulations.