Exodus of fire and ambulance crew

Bulawayo's Fire and Ambulance Services are battling to stop a continued exodus of its personnel who are in demand locally and abroad because of their unmatched experience and qualifications. The city's fire fighters are considered some of the best recruits produced by the National Training Centre in Bulawayo, one of two training facilities in Zimbabwe.

"The issue of staff exodus is serious indeed," Chief Fire Officer, Dumisani Mpofu, lamented this week on the sidelines of a Recruit Fire-fighters pass-out parade for 34 recruits "Between 2002 and 2004 we have lost 40 staff that is unacceptable and it effects our services." Mpofu said, while the City of Bulawayo was on a continued review of salaries and conditions of service for all personnel, the review was not competitive enough to keep newly recruits and senior personnel. Smaller local authorities and private companies in Zimbabwe offered more attractive packages that lured staff. Besides, the international job market for qualified and experienced fire-men and women and ambulance crews was growing, offering wide opportunities for recruits from Bulawayo and Harare.

"There is a high quality of training but the idea is not to train and lose but to keep the personnel in our service. Who bears the costs for training the recruits? We do not want to be a training ground at the end of the day." said Mpofu. Established in 1950,under the Municipality of Bulawayo, the Fire and Ambulance Services had been run by the British South African Police. The service has a full complement of staff. Annually it trains up to 30 fire fighters who undergo a 27 month course. The training covers procedures in breathing apparatus, watch room and high rise. In addition, training includes emergency rescue (non-driver), station level administration, pump operation and station level fire prevention.

This year from 500 applications, only 67 were short-listed. That number was further reduced to 34 who were selected after passing a grueling aptitude test involving a 5km marathon which included crawling through a 20 metre dark tunnel.

Of the recruits 6 are women. Mpofu said the growth of Bulawayo and the current economic situation have strained resources to cope with distressed calls. "In 2003, the Fire Brigade attended to 388 fire calls and 211 special services which, included traffic accidents and people who had fallen in deep wells," Mpofu said. "57 people lost their lives in those fires and a considerable amount of property was destroyed."