MUTARE-The City of Mutare has received three new fire tenders that were
procured by Government under the Belarus arrangement.

In 2019 President Emmerson Mnangagwa sought out bilateral relations with
Belarus resulting in several agreements which have since culminated in the
provision of among other things, affordable fire tenders and equipment.

President Mnangagwa in August commissioned 23 out of the 133 fire-fighting
trucks from Belarus which are in the process of being distributed across all 92
local authorities.

Mutare City Council spokesperson Spren Mutiwi said the vehicles will improve
council’s emergency response capabilities thereby safeguarding the safety of
residents within the vicinity of Mutare.

“The coming in of the three fire tenders in Mutare has bolstered the city’s
capacity to deal with issues of fire and emergency services. It will help shorten
reaction time and efficiently respond to disaters around the city,” he said
It is against this background of a new and improved fleet of fire tenders that
plans are at an advanced stage to decentralise the fire brigade and establish a
sub office in Dangamvura to reduce travel distance from town to attend
emergencies.

The Government is also working towards the robust arrangement of providing
training services augmented by the supply of spare parts for the fire tenders.

Incidents of fire have in recent years negatively affected the economy in
strategic sectors such as agriculture, plantations and forestry assets, tourism,
education as well as communication.

Several homes were gutted down in Mutare this year alone following
inadequate equipment and lengthy response time by the Mutare fire department,
resulting in several families left homeless and out in the cold.