The National Fire Authority (NFA) has responded to 5260 calls on average per year on a wide range of emergencies.
This, according to Minister for Local Government Premila Kumar, who added the authority had responded to 3154 calls this month, which was 60 per cent of the annual average.
Mrs Kumar said this upward trend was alarming. While launching the authority’s new fire emergency help line number at the Holiday Inn in Suva yesterday, she said the difference between saving and losing a life in a fire or accident depended on how fast the NFA received the emergency call to provide assistance swiftly.
Mrs Kumar said the new emergency number – 910 – ensured anyone could make an emergency call if the need arose.
“It is critical for all Fijians to know the new 910 help line number because a quick call to this new emergency number can save lives and reduce property damages.
“Calls to toll-free number 910 can be made from anywhere across the country. The call can be made from any of the three networks, that is Vodafone, Digicel and TFL. And this service will be available to all Fijians free of charge on a 24-hour basis.”
Mrs Kumar said there was a lot of confusion with most people calling 911 for fire emergencies.
She said a 911 call would be directed to the nearest police emergency centre from where the information would be communicated to the NFA, which was a waste of time in an emergency.
“With the launch of 910, anyone’s call to this number will be directed to the nearest NFA control room immediately.”
Mrs Kumar highlighted the new help line number was connected to the NFA’s three divisional control rooms.
