Internal Affairs Minister Charles Bastienne’s message to commemorate International Fire Fighters’ Day: |05 May 2016

‘Fire fighting a noble profession and not anybody’s job’

Yesterday, Seychelles joined the rest of the world to commemorate the International Fire Fighters’ Day.

As the Minister for Home Affairs and responsible for the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA), Charles Bastienne has wished to commend and salute all our local fire fighters for their devotion, commitment and sacrifices.

Due to the nature of the job, Minister Bastienne has described fire fighting as a “noble profession and not anybody’s job.”

“It’s a job which requires strong qualities, such as strength, courage, dedication and bravery,” he has said.

He has gone on to state that the government recognises the hard work and sacrifices of our men and women “who have the desire to serve, the courage to act and the will to take risks in all eventualities of life”.

“Fire fighters not only brave the smokes and blazes to act when our properties are engulfed by fires, they are also deployed on scenes when disasters and natural calamities strike or when accidents occur,” says the minister.

Statistics show that from January to December 2015, SFRSA registered 433 calls.

For the whole of last year SFRSA responded to 158 fire incidents – be it domestic fires, in buildings, vehicles and boats as well as bush fires. The fire fighters have intervened and provided help in 51 incidents involving vehicles, among other emergencies.

As for the first quarter of this year, SFRSA has already received over 100 calls, among which it has provided help to 59 fire incidents and has helped in 59 emergency cases.

These statistics prove that we need fire fighters, as we do not know when dangers are to strike. Last week 23 new recruits joined SFRSA upon completion of their training. From this new group, 10 are from Praslin and six from La Digue.

“We welcome them on board and hope that other youths also take a career in fire fighting, especially those on the outer islands, so that they can take ownership of their stations,” Minister Bastienne has further commented.

This year’s Fire Fighters’ Day is being celebrated under the theme “Desire to Serve – Courage to Act”.

The Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency has planned a few activities to mark the occasion. They include a promotion ceremony and a long service award ceremony which will take place on Friday afternoon.