Following a recent cabinet decision, the three Juddha Fire Brigade Offices of Kathmandu Valley will soon be handed over to the Armed Police Force (AFP). The home ministry has already given instructions for ‘necessary preparations’ to let the AFP take charge of all the fire brigade duties and also for transfer of assets to the AFP. According to the brigade officials, henceforth the AFP will utilise the firemen while the administrative staff would be deputed to the home ministry. This is a welcome decision. The AFP is no doubt a better-organised body more capable of delivering quicker services in times of emergency. It is also a prudent step to bring the brigade offices under the purview of the home ministry, which can regularly allocate a proper budget for the brigade component. Thus from the budgetary and efficiency point of view, the switchover sounds sensible.

The fire brigade offices have incurred enough public wrath over the years because of tardy services. But, in reality, the offices have been facing an acute shortage of modern equipment and manpower to handle emergencies. At the Pulchowk Fire Brigade Office, for instance, 17 persons are working in an office that has 38 slots. Of the 17, only seven are trained firemen. Thus a modification in administration was long overdue. Hopefully, the change would solve the problem of understaffing and bring about an improvement in the agility and alertness of the brigade hands. The AFP could also play a positive role in the modernisation of the outdated fire-fighting outfit by seeking technical and financial cooperation from within and without. Fire brigade is an extremely essential service. Any negligence on the part of the authorities concerned could prove disastrous for a large number of citizens in any given locality(s) engulfed by fire.