Stressed state, firefighters seek state assistance

In a media statement, the union calls on central and local institutions to visit fire and rescue services tomorrow and directly report on problems and challenges facing firefighters for years.

“Funding institutions that urgently apply this issue, to analyze the state of fire and rescue service, to create normal conditions for work, job safety, to increase emergency readiness for this service to be functional and to justify the establishment, the sacred mission of firemen to save human life and material goods”, the statement says.

Furthermore, the Kosovo Fire Union seeks the company of central and local government actions in order to improve the current situation for firefighters.

“Hopefully next year to find this service in better conditions, to ensure the budget, define management competencies, a good organisation prepared for various challenges that can be presented in the emergency situation”, the statement states.

Full statement:

May 4th International Fire Day, this service even this year finds it in an uncaring state and extremely serious in all aspects, such as organisation, management, technical capacities, as well as human resources.

On this landmark international day in their countries where they operate, firefighters are visited by institutions and state mechanisms are given recognition, thanks, demonstrate professional skills that demonstrate emergency readiness to help citizens at any moment.

In Kosovo this day goes quietly, fire service finds it in a very difficult and almost unaffordable position, where firefighters face many difficulties in all aspects.

Kosovo's firefighters function in non-complete compliance with the laws in power, ignored, ignored and without any institutional care, which has raised deep indignation in this category of employees.

Firefighters have no legal status (a fire station is for civil servants) have no definition of management competencies, dualism created between central and local power.

The vacuum created in the middle of AME. MPBs, and municipalities, have created trouble and firemen are free of planned budgets, no personal equipment, no vehicles and fire technicians, no safety equipment for work, untested equipment, and under the declaration of uniformless producers, no symbols, an extremely small number of firefighters, outside any criteria, this situation created where firefighters directly endanger their health and we can say life, where they testify to cases of injury in the workplace of firemen, which during their work took heavy injuries and no one came out of the office, the employer, where all the costs were needed to be performed by the medics themselves.

We've been looking forward to institutions, since -2010, for this situation to improve and create normal conditions for work, but never showed willingness to solve problems and the situation created. Firefighters don't compensate for overtime, night shifts, state holidays, low-time against all employee categories in the country.

I take advantage of the case that the Fire Department in our country and the Fire Department wherever they are, wish them international fire days, congratulate them with health, success, and congratulate them on the sacrifice and willingness to serve the country whenever emergency cases arise.

Tomorrow in the case of May 4th International Fire Day, central institutions, MPB/AMEs and locals, mayors are invited to visit fire and rescue services and live to announce the situation, in the near future affecting the problems and challenges facing firefighters for years, to affect the problems and challenges facing firefighters since the war for decades.

We invite the emergency decision - making institutions to analyze the state of fire and rescue service, create normal conditions for work, job safety, increase the urgency of this service's functioning and the establishment, the sacred mission of firemen to save human life and material goods.

In the hope that the decision-making institutions will reflect positively on the demands of firefighters and overcome this situation that has been created, we seek harmonisation of the actions of central and local governments that this institutional vacuum created to be chosen in better terms of service, hopefully next year to find this service in better conditions, to ensure the budget, to define management competencies, a good organisation, prepared for various challenges that can be presented in the emergency situations.

Happy International Day of Rescue Firefighters, live heroes.