Friday, March 29, 2024

International Airports fire fighting equipments procured

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New Fire Engines at KK international Airport

Government has said that it is committed to ensure that all international airports in the country are equipped with the state of the art fire fighting and safety equipments.

Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Deputy Minister Mwali Mutaba said government will endeavor to make the Zambian airports among the best equipped in the region.

Dr Mutaba was speaking when he officially handed over 17 Fire Fighting Trucks and 9 Trauma Ambulances procured at a cost of K170 billion to the National Airport Corporation Limited (NACL) at Kenneth Kaunda international airport in Lusaka yesterday.

The newly acquired Fire Fighting and Safety Equipments will be distributed among the four Major International airports namely Kenneth Kaunda, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe and Mfuwe International airport.

Dr Mutaba stated that Zambia being one of the State Party to the International Civil Aviation Organization, will adhere to the Chicago convention of 1944 which contains standards and recommended practices that prescribe the physical and associated characteristics to be met by the equipment at airports to be used for international air transport operations.

“The purchase of the new equipment is a clear demonstration to the global aviation community and the public at large that Zambia is committed to maintenance and achievement of safe air transport by making available huge resources and procuring state of the art airport fire fighting equipment in order to ensure safety and orderly growth of international air transport,” he said.

Dr Mutaba also said the procurement of the new equipment was government’s initiative to facilitate airports development for the new large passenger aircraft developed for commercial services such as the airbus A380.

He added that with this enhanced capability and status, Zambia stands ready to respond to airport emergency challenges which might occur within the airport boundaries.

Dr Mutaba further urged the Department of Civil Aviation and the NACL to ensure that the equipments are well looked after and maintained.

“To all emergency responders, we encourage you to join hands by maximizing care and professionalism in the use of the equipments so that their service life and Zambia’s safety record could be continuously improved,” he said.

Prior to the purchase, government in partnership with the department of civil aviation and the provider Albion Export Services of UK trained 30 rescuers and fire services personnel drawn from all the manned airports across the country on the operational, paramedical and mechanical aspects of the new equipment.

Dr Mutaba has since praised Albion Export Services for the quick supply of the equipment and urged the company to continue providing the after sales services and guidance on preventative maintenance.

And Albion Services Managing Director Robing Pickford said his company appreciated the 25 years business collaboration with the Zambian government of delivering fire tenders.

Mr Pickfold said his company is ready to offer technical support to the Zambian fire fighters whenever called upon.

Earlier, Fire Services Association of Zambia (FSAZ) Patron Ad Simwinga called on government to extend the purchase of the new fire fighting equipments to the local fire brigades across the country.

In a speech read on his behalf by FSAZ Vice President Lawrence Tubi, Mr Simwinga said in the past, the local authority has been faced with numerous challenges in the fire fighting service provision due to lack of new equipment and skilled manpower.

He further praised the patriotic front government for attaching great importance in the fire fighting system and safety delivery in the country.

“We want to praise government for this development because the purchase of this new fire fighting and safety equipment is the biggest procurement government has ever made since independence in 1964,” he said.

During the commemoration of the International Fire-Fighters Day (IFFD) on the 4th of May this year, President Michael Sata directed the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to decentralize the provision of fire fighting and rescue services in order to protect valuable infrastructure across the country.

ZANIS

28 COMMENTS

  1. Mwabombeni Ba PF. Now decentralize the fire fighting department to all communities. Sensitize the communities on early response in case of fire.

  2. Seleni tubombeko and when is our Zambia airways re-opening? next week maybe, man of action we are waiting to see, tell us.

  3. Good 1st step there by GRZ and next step is rebuilding the airport into a hub to rival Nairobi,Jo’burg and an airline to give the two giant east african airlines a run for their money.

  4. This is a good move. But the biggest problem we have in Zambia are the water sources for these fire tenders to work effectively. The next move should be to rehabilitate all the water hydrants and improve water supply for the fire tenders near the inferno. Otherwise we shall have state of the art equipment which will not be capable of quenching a fire.

  5. Please do not abuse or misuse these Fire Fighting equipment.This Fire fight trucks are not meant to be used  as personnel to holder vehicles where the driver or his boss will used to ferry charcoal,mealie meal and other groceries to his house.This is staff transport to go and fetch/collect the boss or one of the staff members from their homes.The equipment should be parked or positioned at the various airports assigned and used only during mock drills and actual emergencies. 

  6. Good move but I also wish this gesture can be extended to the local councils and our poorly equipped fire stations throughout the country. As for Ambulances procure some to be used by the ordinary citizens as well rather than just catering for our airports. Our people get sick everyday and need those services

    • @ Dada man. Were MMD going to use their personal monies or tax payers money? This is the Zambian tax payers hard earned money and not any political party’s money so we the Zambian people deserve these services period!

    • Its not about having an idea its also about implementing it. e.g when LPM was alive he said Zambia will host the ALL Africa Games while some of his Minsters didn’t like the idea because they were lazy to work. Immediately after he died they said that Zambia will not host the all Africa games. So even most of these achievements so far during the PF in power would not have taken place had the MMD been still in power. They would have also rejected the hosting of the UNWTO and even the purchasing of these equipment to say Zambia cannot afford.

  7. LSK Times, you are doing a good job by keeping us posted with the latest developments in Zambia but please take what I am about to say as constructive criticism. The word EQUIPMENT is a mass noun, without an ‘s’. It may be a typo but some professionalism in editing will help, especially taking into account that the information you put on your website is read by millions around the world. This is not the first time I have seen such grammatical errors, especially in a headline. Anyway, good move by the government, although the tax payer who rarely flies needs local councils to have fire fighting equipment. Let’s not just provide state-of-the-art equipment to the affluent in society, every tax paying Zambian is entitled to such. Thanks LSK Times and keep up the good work.

  8. #12 thanks for the website link. I earlier saw a web link by someone about cleaning of Zimbabwean Vic falls but LT has deleted that link. Ba LT why are you behaving like the PF? Why delete such information? What is bad about that Zimbabwean link which could have helped our councils to see what Zimbabweans are doing in terms of cleanness?

  9. #12 Its not about having an idea its also about implementing it. e.g when LPM was alive he said Zambia will host the ALL Africa Games while some of his Minsters didn’t like the idea because they were lazy to work. Immediately after he died they said that Zambia will not host the all Africa games. So even most of these achievements so far during the PF in power would not have taken place had the MMD been still in power. They would have also rejected the hosting of the UNWTO and even the purchasing of these equipment to say Zambia cannot afford.

  10. #9 YOU ARE RIGHT. ONCE I WAS IN MANSA (2009) I WITNESSED AN AMBULANCE DELIVERING CHARCOAL, MEALIE MEAL, RAPE AND OTHER ESSENTIALS TO A PRIVATE RESIDENCE NEAR AND AFTER MANSA TRADES COLLEGE AS YOU HEAD AWAY FROM GRZ OFFICES. DURING THE SAME VISIT I WITNESSED A Mr SPIDER BUILDING BURNING. FIRE FIGHTERS WITH THEIR EQUIPMENT CAME BUT WERE NOT EXTINGUISHING THE FIRE BUT JUST LOOKING LIKE ANY OTHER SPECTATOR. WHEN I ASKED WHY THEY WERE NOT TAKING ACTION, THEY SAID THERE’S NO WATER IN THE FIRE ENGINES. I ALMOST COLLAPSED WITH DISBELIEF. BY THE WAY MANSA RIVER WAS JUST TEN MINUTES AWAY FROM THE BUILDING ON FIRE. ANOTHER STREAM WAS BEHIND SPIDER BUILDING- LESS THAN A MINUTE’S WALK FROM THE SCENE. LUAPULA PROVINCE HAS THE LION’S SHARE OF FRESH WATER IN ZAMBIA.

  11. Congratulations Zambia. Fire fighting is most essetial for rating primary and alternate airports. Now I see a problem: Everytime we get a fire in Lusaka town the town fire brigade will expect the airport brigade to respond.

    The ICAO procedures dont allow such cheating: the airport fire protection rating must be for the airport not shared with town. Secondly, but of equal importance, those monster vehicles are heavy but very powerful indeed. Driving them through streets is a recipe for crashing and overturning.

    :-?

  12. Against what cost? A quick calculation of price of all mentioned supplied goods, delivered to site, duties unpaid (since GRZ is purchaser) inclusive of manufacturer and supplier profit margins gives a figure of almost 15,5 million USD or 81 billion ZK. Consider that the supplier is Albion export services is hardly more than a one man company, with hardly any cash up to 2010, but with a positive cash flow of more than 2,5 million USD in 2011… Consider that GRZ is procuring goods of so called more than 32 million USD against no contractual performance guarantee of the afore mentioned supplier company (tender?) … Consider that the contract was drawn in November 2009 thus under RB…

  13. Its one thing buying new equipment but its another thing when it comes to using and maintaining them….GRZ should seek assistance from the British or USA in training our boys on how to properly use these Fire engines. These countries will happily send their retired trainers for free just throw in a safari package in South Luangwa national park for the trainers  

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