Attempts yesterday by the Greater Taoyuan government to refuse National Association for Firefighters’ Rights members admission to a review meeting about a fire that claimed the lives of six firefighters on Tuesday caused a clash between the City Fire Department and family members of the dead men, ultimately forcing Taoyuan Fire Department Chief Hu Ying-ta (胡英達) to allow the association members in.
The fire in the municipality’s Sinwu District (新屋) and the resulting deaths has caused a backlash from the firefighters’ relatives and association members, with more than 50 gathering in front of the city hall yesterday in anger, protesting over what they say is a long-standing deficiency in the municipal government’s staff and equipment, as well as a negligent, outdated firefighting administration.
Despite the initial refusal to admit association members into the meeting, Hu finally bowed to pressure and allowed the association president, vice president and other senior staff to sit in on the meeting.
Photo: Chiu Yi-tung, Taipei Times
According to the association, over the past two years, the nation has lost 19 firefighters, despite the association’s efforts to warn the government three years ago of inherent problems in the structure of the firefighting system.
“We have suggested and are still suggesting three main points of change to the system; first to allow base-level firefighters to participate and give input during meetings on reforms, and to address the lack of staff and equipment as the second and third points respectively,” the association said.
The government needs to listen to firefighters because they are the ones on the front lines and know best what they need in terms of labor and equipment, the association said, adding that firefighters should form a neutral third party and should be present during equipment purchases.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, in Taipei, hundreds of people led by Fire Protection Engineers Association Union honorary chairman Ho Chou-tsung (何岫璁) staged a protest, calling on the Control Yuan, the Legislative Yuan and the Ministry of the Interior to condemn any sort of closed-door deals on a draft act on firefighting equipment and personnel.
The government should be transparent in its debates over the legislation and invite professionals to partake in the process, Ho said.
Since the Wei Er Kang Restaurant fire in Taichung in 1995 that caused 64 deaths and 11 injuries, the government has allowed firefighters to temporarily become either fire protection technicians or fire protection engineers, to conduct equipment and installment inspections without passing national examinations, to fill a shortfall until enough trained staff were hired for those roles.
However, the draft act is considering allowing people to fill these roles permanently without having to pass any sort of national examination, Ho said, adding that this would compromise firefighting safety.
While these firefighters are restricted to inspecting buildings of five stories or less, Ho said that the Sinwu incident occurred in a building meeting such criteria.
In response, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chiu Chang-yueh (邱昌嶽) accepted the complaints on behalf of the ministry and promised continued communication with all parties to improve the nation’s management of firefighting personnel and equipment.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
DEMAND: The government should enact regulations in line with Austria and Germany to incorporate vegan nutrition into school meals, an advocate said More than 1,000 people yesterday marched in Taipei to promote veganism, calling for legislation to incorporate vegan diets into school lunches and the national net zero emissions program. Participants gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building for the march, which was organized by the Vegan Action Network (VAN). Former ambassador to Chad Chiu Chung-jen (邱仲仁), actor Yankee Yang (楊子儀) and actress Cindy Lien (連俞涵) attended the event. VAN member Marianne Chao (趙梅君) said that the campaign aimed to urge the government to promote vegan diets across schools and government agencies via legislation and national policies, which would help build
RSS