The National Fire Authority (NFA) is advocating for a nationwide expansion of municipal boundaries in a bid to address the increasing number of fire incidents occurring outside urban areas. Acting Chief Executive Joel Israel presented this initiative to the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, emphasizing that the NFA is currently limited to operating only within municipal boundaries. Despite this restriction, the authority has been responding to fires in rural communities, villages, and settlements.
Israel pointed out that the rising frequency of incidents beyond municipal areas has underscored significant gaps in fire coverage, attributing the issue to outdated policies and enforcement shortcomings. “You look at across the table, you can notice the hike in the fire occurrences outside of the boundary because of many reasons that are related to policy, and also where majority of the policies are not enforced,” he stated.
To address these concerns, the NFA is preparing a Cabinet paper aimed at extending municipal boundaries nationwide, which would enable the authority’s legal framework to align with the essential services it is already providing to these areas. Alongside this initiative, NFA’s Manager of Finance, Sen Jeet, highlighted the need for an increased budget to ensure the sustainability of the expanded services. “But those Cabinet papers will be presented to bring in sustainability for NFA to provide the services as mentioned,” he said.
With a current infrastructure of 21 fire stations, 54 fire appliances, and 669 career firefighters across the nation, the NFA stresses the importance of legislative and funding support to effectively meet the evolving fire safety requirements of communities throughout the country. The ongoing efforts to improve fire service coverage reflect a proactive approach to community safety and resilience.
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