Five provinces to get fire trucks

FIVE provinces will receive a fire engine each as soon as they are cleared by authorities, says chief fire officer Bill Roo.
Roo said those provincial governments would assist with the shipment of the trucks to fire stations in Lae (Morobe), Goroka (Eastern Highlands), Mt Hagen (Western Highlands), Madang (Madang) and Kokopo (East New Britain).
He said the provinces were high risk areas with high-threat activities as well as expanding infrastructure developments in commercial and business.
Roo said he was talking with respective provincial administrations and had negotiated with them to fund the shipment of the trucks.
Meanwhile, he said all fire trucks donated last year by China and Japan for Apec purposes were accounted.
“A total of 15 vehicles were donated just in time to help assist Apec’s Joint Security Task Force operations in Port Moresby,” Roo said.
“All nine Chinese-donated fire engines are in Port Moresby, of the nine, four are already stationed in each of fire station around the city.”
The remaining five are at the fire service headquarters along Waigani Drive.
Roo said six other trucks donated by Japan will be allocated to fire stations in the capital city to boost operations in the city and surrounding settlements and villages.
He said fire service would continue to replace old fire engines and look at renovating and extending old fire engine bays in Port Moresby and around others centres in Papua New Guinea to accommodate the new engines.