Dr. Joseph calls for Fire Service establishment in Mendi
Defense Minister and Nipa Kutubu MP, Dr. Billy Joseph expressed his regrets over Friday’s destructive fires in which chains of buildings in Mendi town’s main commercial area were engulfed, forcing several local trading companies to go out of business.
Mendi has been without an established fire service to respond to emergencies.
“It is unfortunate we are faced with tragedies like these when we are not prepared to respond appropriately on time when it matters," Dr. Billy said.
"This is a wake-up call on the relevant agencies of government to work collaboratively to ensure the vital functions of government are established and operationalized to effectively serve and secure our people and their business investments."
The PNG Fire Service prepared a Standard of Fire and Emergency Cover (SOFEC) Report in 2024 for the establishment of a new Fire Station in Mendi, and it has since been a huge challenge for the PNG Fire Service to build a fire station in Mendi without the support of the host Provincial Government.
The Minister called on the Provincial Government to work together with the Papua New Guinea Fire Service to build a Fire Station in Mendi as a matter of priority before rebuilding the entire township of Mendi.
“Fire and Emergency services are critical enablers of growth and development we tend to ignore until such tragedy occurs. It is always better to be prepared for such disasters than to be caught out and not having response strategies in such situations,” Dr. Billy said.
He said the Provincial Government must provide land or a building facility for a new fire station and counter-fund the procurement of fire engines.
“We need to work together with the SHPG as stakeholders and partners to build our emergency response systems in the province to ensure we respond to tragedies like this appropriately in a timely manner,” Minister Joseph said.
A team from PNG Fire Service Mt Hagen and Wabag has been dispatched to Mendi with basic firefighting equipment to contain further fires as well as to work with
the Provincial Disaster Management team to assess and investigate the cause of the two main destructive fires.
The report will also include an estimate of assessed losses to the fires and recommendations for the SHPG to reconsider the SOFEC report on building a new Fire Station in Mendi.
In the meantime, Minister Joseph has urged everyone affected by this tragedy to console and give respect to our people who didn’t just lost properties but their entire hard work, dreams and aspirations.
“My heart goes out to the families and businesses who are at loss of their hard-earned investments and traumatized by this tragedy,” Dr. Joseph said.