China Signed MOU about Cooperations in Fire Services with Fiji

On 30 April 2009, the National Fire Authority (NFA) finalized terms and conditions of a formal technical assistance agreement in the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Chinese Fire Service (CFS) in Beijing, China witnessed and aided by HE the Fiji ambassador to China, Sir James Ah Koy.

The five major areas of cooperation and assistance that the Chinese agreed today are as follows: - Opportunities in the form of secondments for NFA and CFS officers to carry out work attachments in China and Fiji respectively.

Such secondments will assist in providing international work experience for officers of the two organizations and will help NFA by boosting the capability of its operational fire officers. - NFA to benefit from the CFS's bulk purchasing power by being able to source firefighting equipment, materials and appliances at much cheaper prices, while not compromising quality. - Secondment of a senior operational manager of the CFS to NFA to enhance NFA's emergency management planning capabilities and mentor senior operational managers at NFA. - Specialized training opportunities in China which NFA officers can attend, e.g. fire investigation skills, road accident rescue, urban search and rescue, swift water rescue, hazardous material response and management and administration courses for NFA operational officers in China; and - Opportunity for donation of used firefighting equipments and appliances from China to help boost NFA's operational capability.

On 6 December 2009, the finalized MOU was signed by the National Fire Authority (NFA) and the Chinese Fire Service (CFS).