[File Photo]

The National Fire Authority has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Queensland Fire & Emergency Services of Queensland, Australia.

The MOU was signed at the QFES Brisbane Headquarters between NFA Chief Executive Officer Puamau Sowane and QFES acting Commissioner Stephen Smith.

Backed by the bilateral relationship reinforced through the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Partnership, the MOU will result in a partnership between NFA & QFES over the next five years.

This is in terms of training capabilities, technical assistance, fire data gathering and analysis, mentorship and donation and use of equipment.

The activities under the MOU will enhance NFA’s capability not only in firefighting but also in responding to other emergency services such as urban search and rescue (USAR), road accident rescue (RAR) and hazardous material (HAZMAT) responses.

Sowane says NFA’s last MOU with an external fire service was with Australia’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) and that lapsed in 2020.

The NFA CEO highlights that after the MOU with CFA ended, they had sought another MOU with a metropolitan fire service in line with what NFA is facing i.e high-rise buildings, structural fire investigations and inspections.

With the ever-changing fire landscape now with the construction of multi-storied buildings on the increase, Sowane states that the signing of the MOU opens great opportunities to have firefighters trained by the best here at QFES and in Fiji.

During their visit to QFES, the NFA CEO and Chief Fire Officer will look at how its overseas partner conducts its operations in relation to its infrastructure, fire engineering, technical rescue and research and scientific branch.