Aufa’i Petaia strengthens local fire service authority

06 September 2018, 12:00AM

The Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority (S.F.E.S.A.) has improved its ability to conduct fire investigations.  

Assistant Commissioner, Aufa’i Petaia Tausani completed a twelve-week Fire Investigator course with the Melbourne Fire Brigade (M.F.B.) Fire Investigation Analysis team in Melbourne Australia, giving the Island nation a new professional capacity in this important area of Fire and Emergency Services work. 

Assistant Commissioner Aufa’i’s training costs were covered by the European Union (EU) funded Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (B.S.R.P.) Project as part of its overall work to implement the Samoa Fire Reduction Strategy launched in 2017.

While congratulating Assistant Commissioner Aufa’i, Christoph Wagner, the Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation for the Pacific said, “The European Union is proud to support Samoa’s first ever fire investigator. This is a commendable achievement for S.F.E.S.A., and it marks the beginning of a new learning endeavour for Samoa Fire Fighters. By increasing the capacity of local officers, we can ensure a safer Samoa for everyone, and that is ultimately the goal.”

The Samoa Fire Reduction Strategy, created by the S.F.E.S.A. in collaboration with the B.S.R.P. Project, aims to reduce household fires in Samoa, whilst also increasing awareness around fire safety. 

One of the main ways in which the Fire Strategy does this is through strengthening fire investigation capability within the Samoa Fire and Emergency Authority. Having the capacity to investigate how fires start gives the Authority correct information on how to create awareness to prevent further fire risks.

“The three-month training course with the M.F.B. has been such an amazing and immersive experience,” Aufa’i said.

“I had the opportunity to visit more than twenty fire scenes and learnt from the forensic team about what factors to look out in fire scenes that indicate how a fire starts. Returning to Samoa as a certified fire investigator gives me the opportunity to transfer what I learnt to our local officers.”

“By equipping our staff with the right knowledge, tools and skills we will be able to provide Samoa with efficient fire and emergency service.”

Assistant Commissioner Aufa’i is the first official fire investigator for Samoa. Upon his return, S.F.E.S.A. is planning to facilitate fire investigator training with eight fire officers to strengthen S.F.E.S.A. capability in fire reduction. 

The trainings will be facilitated in partnership with MFB, who have partnered with S.F.E.S.A. for over twenty years. 

The partnership was formalised by the Pacific Island Emergency Management Alliance (P.I.E.M.A.) through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in 2016. Like all twinning arrangements facilitated under P.I.E.M.A., this is an opportunity for Samoan emergency services to gain knowledge and skills from their overseas-based partners.

“The B.S.R.P. Project has been operating in the Pacific region for five years, working directly with fifteen Pacific Island Countries, with the aim to strengthen national disaster management. In Samoa, the B.S.R.P. Project works with the National Disaster Management Office to not only improve policies around fire safety, but also support the implementation of those policies. Disaster management can only be effective when operational systems reflect the policy that bring them together, and we will continue to support the implementation of the Fire Reduction Strategy as it will have an overall impact on Samoa fire safety” B.S.R.P. Project Manager Taito Nakalevu said.

 

Background:

The ACP-EU Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (B.S.R.P.) is a €19.37million project, funded by the EU and implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC).  The objective of the project is to reduce the vulnerability, as well as the social, economic and environmental costs of disasters caused by natural hazards, thereby achieving regional and national sustainable development and poverty alleviation in ACP Pacific Island States.

06 September 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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