A piece of land has been acquired in Keiyasi in the interior of Navosa for the construction of a new fire station.
National Fire Authority chief executive officer Puamau Sowane said it was a challenge for his team in Sigatoka to travel to Keiyasi to attend to fire incidents in the area.
Travelling from Sigatoka town to Keiyasi would take about an hour.
He said they were working on boosting their presence in the community, having built stations in rural communities in past years.
“We have acquired pieces of land in Keiyasi because it has been planned to be a township under the government’s 20-year plan,” Mr Sowane said.
“There is a big hospital, it’s all part of the plan to make it a town and we have acquired a land too for that.
“For Keiyasi to be called a town, it will need all these facilities there.”
He said it would be easier for people in Keiyasi to access services there instead of travelling down to Sigatoka.
“One thing we have seen, it is very difficult to attend to fire incidents in Keiyasi from Sigatoka, it is very far and difficult to drive our big fire trucks up there.
“When we reach the area of the incident, everything is already razed to the ground, and this is also a reason why we procured land there.”
He was making submissions before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs in Suva recently, which was chaired by government MP Alitia Bainivalu.
The NFA was scrutinised on its 2016 annual report.
